PART 1. TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
CHAPTER 7. RAIL FACILITIES
SUBCHAPTER D. RAIL SAFETY
The Texas Department of Transportation (department) adopts the amendments to §7.35 and §7.36 concerning Rail Safety. The amendments to §7.35 and §7.36 are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the November 15, 2024, issue of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 9191) and will not be republished.
EXPLANATION OF ADOPTED AMENDMENTS
Section 7.35 requires railroads to annually report information about hazardous material shipments to the department. Section 7.36 implements Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 191, which provides standards to protect workers from hazards caused by unsafe proximity of structures near railroad tracks and authorizes the department to grant a request to deviate from a requirement of that chapter. Amendments to §7.35 and §7.36 are required to maintain consistency with modern railroad industry best practices for reporting hazardous material shipping and to improve the efficiency of compliance with safety regulations. The amendments support emergency preparedness and reduce administrative burdens for state agencies and railroads.
Amendments to §7.35, Hazardous Materials - Written Reports, remove unused definitions, update and clarify language to match modern industry standards, and update the content of reporting by requiring reporting of more specific data on a per-county basis.
Amendments to §7.36, Clearances of Structures Over and Alongside Railway Tracks, change the process used for the department to grant applications to deviate from a requirement of Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 191. The rule currently requires the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) to consider such a waiver request. However, the department rail division staff receives the waiver requests and determines the safety of proposed clearance deviations, whether any conditions should be imposed, and whether to recommend that the commission approve the request. Requiring the approval from the commission adds several months to the process without increasing safety outcomes. The amendment will permit the department's executive director, or a designee, to issue final approval of the waiver, which will reduce administrative steps and expedite projects without reducing safety.
COMMENTS
No comments on the proposed amendments were received.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The amendments are adopted under Transportation Code, §201.101, which provides the commission with the authority to establish rules for the conduct of the work of the department, and more specifically, Transportation Code, §111.101, which authorizes the commission to adopt rules to implement federal safety laws, and §191.004, which authorizes the commission to adopt rules to implement Transportation Code, Chapter 191, relating to structures and materials near railroad or railway.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTES IMPLEMENTED BY THIS RULEMAKING
Transportation Code, Chapters 111 and 191.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 30, 2025.
TRD-202500340
Becky Blewett
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Transportation
Effective date: February 19, 2025
Proposal publication date: November 15, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-3164
The Texas Department of Transportation (department) adopts the amendments to §§11.51, 11.54, and 11.55, the repeal of §11.53, and new §11.59 and §11.60, all concerning Access Connections to State Highways. The amendments to §§11.51, 11.54, and 11.55, the repeal of §11.53, and new §11.59 and §11.60 are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the November 15, 2024, issue of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 9194) and will not be republished.
EXPLANATION OF ADOPTED AMENDMENTS, REPEAL, AND NEW SECTIONS
This rulemaking provides the authority for district engineers to approve a driveway permit in an area where the department owns the access rights but only if the driveway can be safely installed and maintained. The grant of this authority provides an alternative to the current process under which a property owner must purchase access rights from the department in such a circumstance.
Amendments to §11.51, Definitions, clarify the definitions of "access connection", "commercial driveway", and "private driveway". The amendments also revise the definition of "executive director" to eliminate references to a position that no longer exists at the department. The definition of "access denial line" is added to identify where the department owns all rights of access from the adjacent property to the state highway.
§11.53, Locations Where the Department Controls the Access, is repealed and is replaced with new §11.60, Sale of Access at Locations Where the Department Owns the Access. The new §11.60, Sale of Access at Locations Where the Department Owns the Access, addresses the process by which the commission may sale the right of access to the adjacent landowner.
Amendments to §11.54, Construction and Maintenance of Access Connection Facilities, add subsection (c)(3) to clarify that the department may, but is not required, to reconstruct a driveway that has been permitted across an access denial line pursuant to the new §11.59 (relating to Permit of Access at Locations Where the Department Owns the Access).
Amendments to §11.55, Appeal Process, add a new subsection (b) to clarify that a district engineer's denial of an access permit requested under §11.59 (relating to Permit of Access at Locations Where the Department Owns the Access)is final and not subject to appeal by the property owner requesting such access. The amendments redesignate existing subsection (b) and following subsections and references to those redesignated subsections appropriately.
New §11.59, Permit of Access at Locations Where the Department Owns the Access, sets forth the process by which the district engineer may permit an adjoining landowner to access the state highway in locations where the department owns the access rights. This new section also requires that the adjoining landowner pay a permit fee that is predicated on the type of access being granted prior to the department's issuance of the access permit.
New §11.60, Sale of Access at Locations Where the Department Owns the Access, sets forth the process by which the commission may sale the right of access to the adjacent property owner. This new section is a restatement of the substance of existing §11.53, which is being repealed in this rulemaking to relocate its content to a more logical position within the subchapter.
COMMENTS
No comments on the proposed amendments, repeal, or new sections were received.
SUBCHAPTER C. ACCESS CONNECTIONS TO STATE HIGHWAYS
43 TAC §§11.51, 11.54, 11.55, 11.59, 11.60
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The amendments and new sections are adopted under Transportation Code, §201.101, which provides the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) with the authority to establish rules for the conduct of the work of the department, and more specifically, Transportation Code, §203.031, which provides the commission with the authority to control access to highways.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTES IMPLEMENTED BY THIS RULEMAKING
Transportation Code, Chapter 203, Subchapter C, Control of Access.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 30, 2025.
TRD-202500341
Becky Blewett
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Transportation
Effective date: February 19, 2025
Proposal publication date: November 15, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-3164
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The repeal is adopted under Transportation Code, §201.101, which provides the Texas Transportation Commission (commission) with the authority to establish rules for the conduct of the work of the department, and more specifically, Transportation Code, §203.031, which provides the commission with the authority to control access to highways.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTES IMPLEMENTED BY THIS RULEMAKING
Transportation Code, Chapter 203, Subchapter C, Control of Access.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 30, 2025.
TRD-202500342
Becky Blewett
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Transportation
Effective date: February 19, 2025
Proposal publication date: November 15, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-3164
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
The Texas Department of Transportation (department) adopts the amendments to §28.2 and new §28.4 concerning Oversize and Overweight Vehicles and Loads. The amendments to §28.2 and new §28.4 are adopted without changes to the proposed text as published in the November 15, 2024, issues of the Texas Register (49 TexReg 9198) and will not be republished.
EXPLANATION OF ADOPTED AMENDMENTS
After the legislature's creation of the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), some of the department's duties and rules were transferred to the DMV, including the provision relating to permits issued for the movement of oversize vehicles on specified holidays. DMV recently identified that it does not have the statutory authority for such a provision and is in the process of changing its rules to delete the provision. The statutory authority to place holiday restrictions on oversize and overweight vehicles was not changed by the transfer of duties to the DMV and remains with the commission. This rulemaking clarifies that the size limitations previously established by the commission for the movement of oversize vehicles on specified holidays continue in effect.
Amendments to §28.2, Definitions, corrects an error in the definition of "permittee" in paragraph (11). Permits for oversize or overweight vehicles are issued by the DMV.
New §28.4, Holiday restrictions on size limits, clarifies that the maximum size limits for a permit issued for movement of a vehicle on New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, or Christmas Day is 14 feet wide, 16 feet high, and 110 feet long, unless an exception is granted based on a route and traffic study conducted by the department.
COMMENTS
No comments on the proposed amendments were received.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The new section and amendments are adopted under Transportation Code, §201.101, which provides the commission with the authority to establish rules for the conduct of the work of the department, and more specifically, Transportation Code, §621.006, which authorizes the commission to impose restrictions on the weight and size of vehicles to be operated on state highways on specified holidays.
CROSS REFERENCE TO STATUTES IMPLEMENTED BY THIS RULEMAKING
Transportation Code, §621.006.
The agency certifies that legal counsel has reviewed the adoption and found it to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on January 30, 2025.
TRD-202500343
Becky Blewett
Deputy General Counsel
Texas Department of Transportation
Effective date: February 19, 2025
Proposal publication date: November 15, 2024
For further information, please call: (512) 463-3164