Establishing Right of Way: Large-Diameter Pipelines in Urban Areas

Abstract

Establishing the right-of-way (ROW) is very important in pipeline projects in urban areas. ROW has increasingly become a critical path item for large diameter pipeline projects, especially for a regional pipeline that extends for several miles in an urban area. This paper will discuss a few of the challenges and considerations involved with ROW acquisition for a large diameter pipeline in urban areas. The type of ROW acquisition is an important consideration; both fee simple and easement acquisitions have advantages and disadvantages that need to be considered. In developed urban areas where there are few options for a pipeline corridor, it is important to maximize the use of existing public ROW and limit the impact to local businesses and residences as much as possible. To establish the required width of the ROW, the engineer must consider the ROW acquisition necessary for the installation and future maintenance and operation of the pipeline. In large urban areas, regional pipeline projects have the potential to cross through multiple cities and jurisdictions. It is important to involve the cities in which the pipeline will be constructed early on in the alignment study process to coordinate logistics. Approval from these cities may be required in the form of a formal interlocal agreement to share the public ROW. Existing public ROW may prove to be the best alignment; however, in many cases, there may not be adequate existing public ROW to accommodate the pipeline. In these cases, additional ROW acquisition would be required. Consideration could also be given to an alignment along an existing utility or railroad corridor when feasible. The number of parcels impacted by the acquisition along the pipeline corridor is an important consideration during the pipeline alignment study. It may be prudent to define a corridor through an area of large parcels with undeveloped lots when possible, which would require negotiation with fewer owners. After an alignment has been established and the number of parcels affected by this alignment has been determined, right-of-entry onto the property will be required for preliminary design and survey purposes. These are just a few of many key factors that should be considered when determining the required ROW acquisition for a large diameter pipeline that will be discussed in this paper.