R918-6-2. Purpose and Background

  (1) The purpose of this rule is to assign maintenance responsibility between the department and the local government entity for roadway and roadside features at the intersection of state and local roads, including grade-separated interchanges, overcrossings, undercrossings, and at-grade intersections.

  (2) In general, the department is responsible for the maintenance of all state roads, including roadside features associated with those roads, except as otherwise delineated in state law. Likewise, county and municipal governments are responsible for roads under their jurisdiction.

  (3) In the case of bridges, the department is responsible for the maintenance of bridges on the state highway system, and county and municipal governments are responsible for maintenance of bridges on their respective road systems. UDOT is responsible for, and carries out, inspections on all highway bridges located on public roads, both on the state highway system and on the local road system, on a schedule that results in an inspection for each bridge every two years. Prior to a scheduled inspection, local government will be notified and invited to attend the inspection. Subsequent to each inspection, UDOT supplies a bridge inspection summary to the entity responsible for maintenance of the bridge (UDOT maintenance shed in the case of bridges on the state highway system, or the local government in the case of bridges on the local road system), which describes recommended preventive and rehabilitative bridge maintenance actions, and which, in the case of bridges carrying a local road over a state highway, indicates which maintenance and preventive actions are the responsibility of the local government. The responsible jurisdiction is then expected to perform the actions recommended in the bridge inspection summary, in order to keep the bridge in a state of good repair.

  (4) Where state roads intersect with roads under local jurisdiction, either at grade or at a grade separation, confusion sometimes arises regarding the maintenance responsibility for specific features at those locations. This rule is intended to clarify which jurisdiction has responsibility for which elements at those locations, and to address the large majority of such situations. Sometimes, however, unusual circumstances or geometry may render a logical division of responsibilities difficult. In those cases, formal agreements between the parties involved are appropriate and encouraged. The language in this rule was developed to encourage consistency regarding maintenance responsibilities between the department and local government. It is recognized the traveling public may benefit in some cases from deviations from the guidelines set forth in this rule to meet the capabilities and skills available individually at the department's maintenance sheds and/or local road departments. In such cases, Region Directors of the department and local officials should together evaluate the guidelines and deviate from them as necessary and as mutually agreed upon, to meet the needs of a specific situation. Open and frequent communication supported by a written agreement is strongly encouraged.