{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1722","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 69, § 69-1722","heading":"Location and removal of certain public utilities -","body":"Condemnation of railroad property or right-of-way - Exemption from\n\npayment of costs and expenses.\n\nA. The location and removal of all telephone, telegraph, fiber\n\noptic, electric light and power transmission lines, poles, cables,\n\nwires and conduits, sewers and all pipelines erected, constructed or\n\nin place upon, across or under any turnpike shall be under the\n\ncontrol and supervision of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, insofar\n\nas same affects the public travel or interferes with the\n\nconstruction and maintenance of such turnpike. Whenever the\n\nAuthority plans a turnpike project or improvement or construction or\n\nreconstruction thereof, and before such work is started, it shall\n\nserve a written notice upon the person, firm, or corporation owning\n\nor maintaining any such facility, which notice shall contain a plan\n\nor chart indicating the places on the right-of-way where such\n\nfacilities may be maintained. The notice shall state the time when\n\nthe work of constructing or improving such turnpike is proposed to\n\ncommence, and a reasonable time shall be allowed to the owner of the\n\nfacility to remove and relocate its property; provided, however,\n\nthat the effect of any change ordered by the Authority shall not be\n\nto exclude the facilities from the turnpike right-of-way. The\n\nremoval and relocation of all such facilities shall be made at the\n\ncost and expense of the owners thereof, unless otherwise provided by\n\nlaw or the Authority, and in no event shall such relocation result\n\nin a taking of the owner's property rights without just compensation\n\nas provided in Section 1708 of this title. The removal and\n\nrelocation of all such facilities shall be made at the cost and\n\nexpense of the owners thereof, unless otherwise provided by law or\n\nthe Authority, and in the event of the failure of such owners to\n\nremove the same at the time set out in the notice, the facilities\n\nmay be removed by the Authority and the cost thereof collected from\n\nsuch owners, and the Authority shall not be liable in any way to any\n\nperson for the locating or relocating of such facilities at the\n\nplaces prescribed. Any corporation or association, or the officers\n\nor agents of such corporation or association, or any other person\n\nwho shall erect or maintain any such lines, poles, cables, wires and\n\nconduits, sewers, pipelines, equipment or other facilities within\n\nthe right-of-way of any turnpike in a manner not in complete\n\naccordance with the requirements of the Authority shall be deemed\n\nguilty of a misdemeanor.\n\nB. With respect to any railroad property or right-of-way, any\n\npowers of condemnation may be exercised to acquire only an easement\n\ninterest therein which shall be located either sufficiently far\n\nabove or sufficiently far below the grade of any railroad track or\n\ntracks upon such railroad property so that neither the proposed\n\nproject nor any part thereof, including any bridges, abutments,\n\ncolumns, supporting structures and appurtenances, nor any traffic\n\nupon it shall interfere in any manner with the use, operation or\n\nmaintenance of the trains, tracks, works or appurtenances or other\n\nproperty of the railroad nor endanger the movement of the trains or\n\ntraffic upon the tracks of the railroad. Prior to the institution\n\nof condemnation proceedings for such easement over or under such\n\nrailroad property or right-of-way, plans and specifications of the\n\nproposed project showing compliance with the above-mentioned above\n\nor below grade requirements and showing sufficient and safe plans\n\nand specifications for such overhead or undergrade structure and\n\nappurtenance shall be submitted to the railroad for examination and\n\napproval. If the railroad fails or refuses within thirty (30) days\n\nto approve the plans and specifications so submitted, the matter\n\nshall be submitted to the Corporation Commission whose decision,\n\narrived at after due consideration in accordance with its usual\nand specifications for such overhead or undergrade structure and\n\nappurtenance shall be submitted to the railroad for examination and\n\napproval. If the railroad fails or refuses within thirty (30) days\n\nto approve the plans and specifications so submitted, the matter\n\nshall be submitted to the Corporation Commission whose decision,\n\narrived at after due consideration in accordance with its usual\n\nprocedure, shall be final as to the sufficiency and safety of such\n\nplans and specifications and as to such elevations or distances\n\nabove or below the grade. Such overhead or undergrade structure and\n\nappurtenances shall be constructed only in accordance with such\n\nplans and specifications and in accordance with such elevations or\n\ndistances above or below the tracks so approved by the railroad or\n\nthe Corporation Commission as the case may be. A copy of the plans\n\nand specifications approved by the railroad or the Corporation\n\nCommission shall be filed as an exhibit with the petition for\n\ncondemnation.\n\nC. Rural water districts, nonprofit water corporations and\n\nmunicipal public water systems in municipalities with a population\n\nof ten thousand (10,000) or less, according to the latest Federal\n\nDecennial Census, or their beneficial trusts shall be exempt from\n\nthe payment of the costs and expenses for the removal and relocation\n\nof water and sewer pipelines and all such facilities constructed or\n\nin place in the public right-of-way when the removal and relocation\n\nof such facilities is necessary for the improvement, construction or\n\nreconstruction of any turnpike. Such costs and expenses, including\n\nany unpaid on the effective date of this act, shall be paid by the\n\npublic authority having jurisdiction over the particular turnpike.","path":["OK Code","Title 69"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os69.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"b62128f422fa5c9614d45300f0d1e0c834ef441ffe8eea91ebf2a010448ce1c1","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1721","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-1722.1"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}