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Aransas County Texas
Road & Bridge

Property Access and Drainage Policy

Revised 8/27/2003

• Provide adequate access to citizen’s property.
• Minimize conflicts between neighboring citizens due to drainage.
• Provide a comprehensive list of requirements.
• Establish means for corrective action.  

The following rules will govern the installation of driveways within Aransas County.  The Road and Bridge Administrator will verify that the rules are followed and enforced but will have limited discretionary authority to make allowances for special circumstances.  All requests for deviation from policy that the Road and Bridge Administrator feels are extreme in nature will be brought before the Commissioner’s Court for a final decision.  

Basic Driveway Installation (Pipe installation up to and including 24” I.D.):

1)   All pipe used in traffic or load-bearing areas will be reinforced concrete pipe.  Pipe used along easements or areas that will not receive traffic can be aluminized corrugated metal pipe or plastic pipe as long as the ends have interlocking connections to prevent against soil infiltration or separation.

2)   Owners requiring a driveway or driveway extension will contact the Road and Bridge department to fill out a driveway permit at no charge. The permit will give a detail description of location and work requested so that County personnel can determine an appropriate pipe size or any complications prior to advising owner. 

3)   The County Road and Bridge Department will install the recommended size pipe for a nominal fee. The charges initiated in 2003 will be $30.00/ft up to 24 lf.  Charges will be reviewed annually by the court and adjusted at that time. Additional lengths beyond 24’, additional driveways or sloped ends will be installed by approved contractors at the owner’s expense.  The price of the installation does not include the cost of the pipe.  The pipe can be supplied by the owner or purchased from the Road and Bridge department at county’s cost.  Purchase of pipe from the Road and Bridge department will only be allowed if the county is installing the pipe.  The minimum width of a driveway installed by the county will be 16’.  The width of the driving surface of the driveway should be considered when ordering pipe, as the county crews will slope the dirt at the ends of the pipe at a minimum slope of 45 degrees.

4)   Areas that have minimal depth for drainage will not be required to have a driveway culvert.  Such driveways will only be allowed if they follow the contour of the ditch and the finished surface of the driveway is not higher than the flow line of the ditch as determined by the Road and Bridge Administrator. The same fees apply for this type of installation by the Road and Bridge crew.

5)   The owner will be responsible for notifying the County that the pipes have been delivered and for marking the location of both ends of the desired driveway with durable, readily visible markers.

6)      Used reinforced concrete pipe will be acceptable as long as they are sound, the ends retain at least 80% of the original bell and spigot and they are free of mortar.

7)  The driveway will be installed as the Road and Bridge workload allows.  The Road and Bridge crew will attempt to install the driveway within 10-15 workings days from the date of notification of pipe delivery.

8)   Owner’s contractor can install driveways provided they follow all of the rules outlined in this order and coordinate with Road and Bridge on the flow line elevation of the pipe.

9)   The County will provide a driveway surface finished with a standard road base material.  Should the owner elect to cover the driveway with asphalt or concrete at his/her own expense the County will not provide maintenance to these surfaces unless damaged by County construction.  Surfaces damaged by the County will be repaired with similar material.

10) The installer of concrete driveways will provide an expansion joint in the concrete either side of the drainage pipe. The distance between the expansion joints shall be twice the width of the pipe.

11) If the County has need to increase the size of an existing drainage ditch parallel to a county road or drainage easement, the county will incur the cost of the replacement for existing driveways within the work area.  Driveways will be replaced with similar material.   The driveway installation will only be offered to properties that exhibit signs of recent and frequent access or the properties that have existing structures such as garages or boat barns that require vehicular access.

12) On occasion the Road and Bridge crews may, in the opinion of the Road and Bridge Administrator, need to feather a driveway further than the property line to accommodate elevation problems.  In these instances they will be restricted to the driveway width and will only do so with the owners consent.

13) Driveways that have been installed without notification or authorization by the County and have been found to hinder drainage or violate one of the above regulations will be removed and placed on the adjacent offending property.

14) This policy will be limited to the streets or county right of way that have an established ditch line.  Right of ways that are not currently county maintained or are private will not be considered under this policy.

Extended Driveways (Pipe installation up to and including 24” I.D.):

1)   Enclosure of county ditches will be allowed provided the finished elevation of the covering (including sod) directly over the pipe is at least 6” below the edge of the adjacent pavement.  Properties with finished ditches higher than the street will be allowed to enclose 75% of their ditch frontage giving the runoff water an avenue to leave the road surface.

2)   Driveway extensions and additional driveways will be at the expense of the property owner. Owners will still be responsible for pipe delivery and the hiring a contractor as stated above.

3)   Extensions will be limited to a run of 36 (thirty-six) feet without a clean out box. Longer extensions will require the placement of a 6” thick reinforced concrete box with a concrete bottom and an H-20 traffic bearing removable grate (detail drawing available from Road and Bridge).  Alternate box designs may be allowed but will be approved in advance by the County Road and Bridge Administrator. The box is for removal of dirt and debris from the pipe sections as well as the entrance of run off water. The box should be placed in a location accessible for easy maintenance.

4)   Additional driveways or extensions that are not joined by a clean out box must have a minimum of five feet between the pipe ends for maintenance.

Deep Ditch Driveways (Pipe installation over 24” I.D.):

1)   All of the above regulations apply except for the following:

            a)   Pipe can be corrugated plastic provided they meet AASHTO M294 and there is
            at least 2’ of compacted fill over the top of the pipe.

b)   All concrete pipe used in this type of installation must be within the maximum lifting limits and reach of the counties equipment. Pipe installations that exceed the capacity of the county’s equipment may be done by an independent contractor at owner’s expense.  Installation by the contractor will include lifting, excavation of ditch to grade and proper placement of the pipe.  In these instances the county will place the backfill and limestone for the driveway access.

c)   All pipes must be in new condition.

d)   Fees for pipe installation will be waived due to the expense of the pipe and the amount of pipe necessary for an adequate width on top of the driveway.

2)   This section of the policy is only applicable when no other means of access to the property is possible.

Click Here for Printable Driveway Permit