Second experience roading tractor

[azbinder]

Back in '76, I moved an IH 622 cotton picker about 100 miles down Interstate 8 in western Arizona. Boss followed in his pickup. Talk about a long drive.

 

[chim]

I must wonder if farming had something to do with the poles being so near the roadway here in PA. Most farmers around hear like to plant as much as possible on whatever land they have. There's an Amish farm near the place I worked with the corn really close to the road. I joked that if he wanted to plant another row he'd need to drill holes in the blacktop. He already cut the first four rows, but you get the idea. If Hay Dude did corn as well as grass, he could harvest the first few rows without getting off the road

 

[paulsharvey]

I must wonder if farming had something to do with the poles being so near the roadway here in PA. Most farmers around hear like to plant as much as possible on whatever land they have. There's an Amish farm near the place I worked with the corn really close to the road. I joked that if he wanted to plant another row he'd need to drill holes in the blacktop. He already cut the first four rows, but you get the idea. If Hay Dude did corn as well as grass, he could harvest the first few rows without getting off the roadView attachment 4133406

Indirectly, yeah, a bit. Its really the ROW probably that is the issue. Can't set the poles on private property, so the best they can do is the back couple feet of the ROW. Back when they first started building road systems, people didn't realize just how narrow a 66 ft right of way is. Some are even narrower than that.

You take 2, 12 ft lanes, each with 5 ft paved shoulders, a 4 ft grass shoulder, a 4:1 front slope of a ditch, and a 3:1 back slope; that takes up a Lot of space. Basically, a road, its paved and grassed shoulders alone take up 42 ft; before we start talking about the swale/ditch.

But, buying ROW is expensive, more so if the land has a decent value, like productive crop land.

 

[Shawn T. W.]

I actually OWN to the center of the county roadway, which is less than 20' of pavement, they have "easement" and "ROW".

The county deducts the square footage that they use from my taxable acreage.

Utility poles are set out of the ROW behind the fence line ... Here you can see a pole on the other side of the paved road on my neighbors side of there fence ... Flag pole is on the corner of my barbwire fence which goes along the county road, and comes into my driveway.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, my private road, each property has a 33 fr access and utility easement centered on the road, so not Right of Way, but a blanket easement pretty much for everyone and everything. Not the same as the county or state owning "in fee". With that, they have no responsibility to do anything, and they won't.

My understanding, per out LDC (Land Development Code) these type of easements are not allowed to serve more than 4 properties on new subdivisions.

County could, if they wanted, easily just take the 66 ft, but they would than be responsible

A one time, there was a POA that was responsible for maintaining, but it sunsetted, and was dissolved.

 

[paulsharvey]

Ours is really too big for an easement type set, 62 properties, single point od entry, several contractors running business from their property, and an exotic animal farm that does public tours.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I have worked in Maryland for Baltimore Gas & Electric and they have service territory all the way out in farm country to the Mason Dixon line and in New Jersey for NJ Public Service Electric & Gas and couldn't get over how small the ROW's were with poles jammed right up against highway travel lanes, definitely not something that is common down here in the South.