For the purposes of this encroachment ordinance, the following definitions apply:
Applicant - The Permittee or Duly Authorized Agent responsible for the construction or other activity.
Average daily traffic - The average 24-hour volume, being the total volume during a stated period divided by the number of days in that period. Unless otherwise stated, the period is a year. The term is commonly abbreviated as ADT.
Backfill - Replacement of suitable material compacted as specified around and over a pipe, conduit, casing, or gallery.
Bedding - Organization of soil or other suitable material to support a pipe, conduit, casing or gallery.
Bond - Surety in an amount satisfactory to the Division that may include, but not be limited to a performance bond, or cash.
Bridge - A structure, including supports, erected over a depression or an obstruction, such as water, a highway or railway and having a length measured along the center or roadway of more than 20 feet between abutments or the extreme ends of the opening for multiple boxes.
Carrier - Pipe directly enclosing a transmitted fluid (liquid or gas).
Casing - A large pipe enclosing a carrier.
Classes of roads -
Road Class | Description | ADT Count |
Road Class | Description | ADT Count |
Arterial | Serves major centers of activity | 18,000 |
Minor arterial | Interconnects to smaller areas of activity | 10,000-18,000 |
Major collector | Connects on both end with collector and/or arterial roads | 4,000-10,000 |
Minor collector | Serves multiple neighborhoods, connects to busier roads | 1,250-4,000 |
Local residential | Res. street contained within the neighborhood it serves | 750-1,250 |
Residential access | Res. street which augments the local residential street | 250-750 |
Residential sub access | Cul-de-sac or low volume road | Less than 250 |
Non-residential | Zoned commercial, services, office or industrial use | |
Clear roadside policy - The policy employed to increase safety, improve traffic operation, and enhance the appearance of roadway by designing, constructing, and maintaining county roadsides as free as practical from physical obstructions above the ground such as trees, drainage structures, massive sign supports, utility poles and other ground-mounted obstructions.
Clear zone - The roadside border area, starting at the edge of the traveled way, free of above ground obstructions and available for use by errant vehicles, is referred to as the clear zone.
Coating - Material applied to or wrapped around a pipe.
Common drive - A driveway providing primary access to more than 1 piece of property. Common drives may be required by the Division to prevent multiple encroachments; flag lot situations for example.
Conduit - A natural or artificial channel through which something (as a fluid) is conveyed or a pipe, tube, or tile for protecting wires or cables.
Contractor or subcontractor - A Contractor or Subcontractor shall be one who for a fixed price, commission, fee, or wage undertakes or offers to undertake construction of superintending of construction of any building, highway, sewer, grading, improvement, reconstruction, structure or part thereof. Anyone who engages or offers to engage in such undertaking in this State shall be deemed to have engaged in the business of specialty contracting in this State.
Corporation - All private or public corporations, business trusts, joint stock companies or associations, domestic or foreign, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or other successors in interest, having any of the powers or privileges or corporations not possessed by individuals or partnerships.
Cover - Depth of top of pipe, conduit, casing, or gallery below grade of roadway, ditch, or ground surface.
Culvert - Any structure not classified as a bridge that provides an opening under the roadway.
Direct burial - The burial of utility lines by means of a “plow” type mechanism that breaks the ground, places the utility line, and closes the break in the ground in a single operation.
Division - County of Greenville, Engineering/ Maintenance Division.
Duct - An enclosed tubular runway for protecting wires or cables.
Duly authorized agent - In all cases the Permittee may elect to appoint a licensed contractor or subcontractor to act as his agent for purposes of posting the bond required and for the performance of all work related to the Permit to ensure compliance with County Specifications.
Electrical utility - Persons, firms and corporations, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or other successors in interest owning or operating in this State equipment or facilities for generating, transmitting, delivering or furnishing electricity for street, railway or other public uses or for the production of light, heat or power to or for the public for compensation, including an electric cooperative or a consolidated political subdivision and all persons, firms, corporations or municipalities to the extent their business, property, rates, transactions and operations are outside corporate limits of a municipality.
Emergency cut - When a road must be cut due to a break in any utility main line, which constitutes a danger to the public; or the roadbed where the road has to be cut without prior notification to the division.
Encasement - Structural element surrounding a pipe.
Encroachment - Any disturbance or use of county road rights-of-way for purposes other than that required by the Greenville County Engineering/ Maintenance Division for maintaining a roadway, drainage improvements, signage, and other appurtenances thereto for the safety of the traveling public.
Flag lot - A parcel connected to the right-of-way by a long narrow strip, which is contiguous to the parcel with a 20-foot minimum width.
Flowable fill - A low-grade concrete-type aggregate mix that can be poured into an excavation for backfill with the capability of being re-excavated. In addition, it provides an incompressible, settlement free, stable backfill surface without mechanical compactive effort. (Using flowable fill in trench excavations allows backfilling without any compactive effort and effectively mitigates the potential for future trench failures due to improper or inadequate compaction.)
Gallery - An underpass for 2 or more utility lines.
Grounded - Electrical conductor connected to earth or some extended conducting body, which serves instead of the earth.
Grout - A cement mortar or slurry of fine sand.
Highway, street, or road - A general term denoting a public way for purposes of vehicular travel, including the entire area within the right-of-way.
Jetting - To place (as a pile) in the ground by means of a jet of water.
Licensed contractor or subcontractor - Shall be a contractor or subcontractor who is certified or licensed in the State of South Carolina in 1 of the following areas: General Contractor, Mechanical Contractor, Homebuilder, Master Plumber, or certified by SCDHEC as a utility contractor.
Local service road - Localized arterial and spur roads which provide land access and socioeconomic benefits to abutting properties.
Longitudinal - Relating to length or the lengthwise dimension.
Manhole - An opening in an underground system which workmen or others may enter for the purpose of making installations, inspections, repairs, connections, and tests.
Municipal pavements - Road rights-of-way, which contain a standard pavement section with curbing. The right-of-way may also contain a sidewalk and/or additional pavement width to accommodate parking.
Paved road - Road surface, which is asphalt, concrete or surface treated.
Permit - The document by which the Division regulates and/or gives approval for the use of road rights-of-way for utilities or other private/public purposes.
Permittee - The utility company, individual property owner, person, firm or corporation responsible for the on-going maintenance of the disturbed areas, pipes, conduits or other encroachments and their appurtenances installed within County rights-of-way.
Person - Includes all individuals, partnerships or associations, cooperatives, lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or other successors in interest, other than corporations.
Pressure - Internal pressure in PSI (pounds per square inch).
Project - A project shall mean a graphic representation that indicates a particular pattern or lays out clearly distinguished sections with attention to the relations and proportions devised for achieving an end, i.e., the project shall be any group of construction or similar activity that achieves a specific goal within a specified time frame. The project shall not be so construed as to be inclusive of a master plan being developed incrementally.
Public - Means the public generally, or any limited portion of the public, including a person or corporation.
Public utility - Persons, firms, and corporations furnishing or supplying in any manner, gas, electricity, heat (other than by means of electricity), water, sewer collection, and sewage disposal service, or any of them, to the public of any portion thereof, for compensation.
Puddling - An earthy mixture of clay, sand or gravel, worked while wet into a compacted mass that becomes impervious to water when dry.
Right-of-way - A general term denoting land, property, or interest therein, usually in a strip, acquired for or devoted to transportation purposes, and under control of the Division.
Rigid pipe - Pipe designed for diametric deflection of less than 1%.
Road cuts - A squared off 90-degree straight angle relative to the shoulder, coming across parallel with the edge of pavement, which is then removed. These cuts are done under an approved encroachment permit and shall be repaired as stipulated in the permit.
Roadway - The paved or unpaved traveled way of any County right-of-way that is normally used for purposes of vehicle travel.
Service connection - Any cable, pipe, or other conduit installed for the purpose of providing utility or other service to an individual parcel from the cable, pipe, or conduit functioning as a trunk, main, or lateral of the utility or other services which may be located within public road rights-of-way.
Sleeve - Short casing through pier or abutment of highway structure.
Specifications - The requirements for the use of road rights-of-way and the construction of any improvements thereon, as set forth in this document, any referenced document to the Greenville County Subdivision Regulations, provisions of the Greenville County Code and policy or practice of the Division. Unless otherwise provided for herein, the applicable portions of the Latest Edition of Standard Specifications for Highway Construction adopted by the South Carolina Department of Transportation shall govern.
Subcontractor - See contractor or Licensed Contractor.
Telephone utility - Persons, firms and corporations, their lessees, assignees, trustees, receivers or other successors in interest owning or operating in this State equipment or facilities for the transmission of intelligence by telephone for hire, including all things incident thereto and related to the operation of telephones.
Traveled way - The portion of the roadway for the movement of vehicles, exclusive of shoulders and auxiliary lanes.
Trench - A narrow open excavation.
Vent - Appurtenance to discharge gaseous contaminants from casings.
(Ord. 3673, § 2, passed 4-1-2003)