A driveway approach providing access to land that is used for industrial, institutional or commercial purposes shall be defined as a commercial driveway approach. Determination by the Livingston County Road Commission, as to whether or not a specific use shall be designated commercial, shall be final and binding.

A property owner, or designated agent, may apply for a commercial driveway approach permit at the Livingston County Road Commission during normal business hours. Two (2) copies of a site plan shall be attached to the application and the location of the property corners and proposed driveway approach should be clearly staked.

All portions of the application must be completed, including information pertaining to the contractor. A certificate of insurance must be provided with the application or the contractor must have a current copy on file with the Road Commission. The certificate of insurance shall be for comprehensive general liability, on an occurrence basis, in the minimum amount of $500,000 per person and $1,000,000 per occurrence. The Livingston County Road Commission shall be listed as an additional named insured on the certificate. The certificate shall be valid until all approach work is completed and the Livingston County Road Commission has acknowledged satisfactory compliance.

See the GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROACH PERMITS section for a detailed description of the application, permit and inspection process.

No portion of a commercial driveway approach within the highway right-of-way shall have a grade greater than 5% (1' vertical in 20' horizontal).

A commercial driveway approach shall enter perpendicular to the existing roadway, with the entering and exiting radii clearly defined.

The applicant shall provide a right-turn lane and taper and/or passing lane if the Livingston County Road Commission determines that such lanes are required to minimize congestion or hazard on the roadway caused by vehicles entering the applicant's driveway. Factors associated with this determination may include volumes, speeds, vehicle types and roadway alignment.

Typical driveway design features can be found in APPENDIX A. The applicant shall follow these standards unless the Livingston County Road Commission gives approval to do otherwise. Design dimensions shown in APPENDIX A may be increased by the Road Commission depending on roadway or site characteristics, such as volumes, speeds and vehicle types.

• Existing and proposed elevations shall be indicated on the site plan to clearly define the direction of storm water runoff.

• Any storm water runoff directed to a county roadway drainage course shall not represent an increase in runoff, shall not exceed a rate of 0.2 cubic feet per second per acre, and shall not exceed a total rate of 8.0 cubic feet per second.

• Design of detention/retention basins shall be based on a 50-year frequency design storm.

• Drainage calculations for detention/retention basin storage and discharge orifice size shall be included with the site plan.

• Existing roadway drainage shall be maintained. Any improvements required to existing roadway drainage facilities to accommodate point discharge or maintain positive drainage shall be the responsibility of the applicant.

• Temporary and permanent soil erosion control measures shall be indicated on the plan to address discharge into the road right-of-way.

• The site plan shall clearly show the location, size and length of any culvert to be installed. All culverts shall be of a size adequate to carry the anticipated flow of the ditch based on a 10-year frequency design storm.

• The minimum length of a culvert may be determined as the width of the approach over the culvert plus the fore slopes from each side of the approach to the ditch bottom. The maximum fore slope is 1 on 3. The Livingston County Road Commission reserves the right to require longer culverts and flatter fore slopes, depending on site-specific conditions.

• The use of sloped culvert end sections is encouraged. The use of culvert headwalls is prohibited. The enclosure of ditches beyond the end of normal culvert length is prohibited.

• Culverts shall be installed in line with and on the same grade as the road ditch. Existing road ditch grades shall be shown on the site plan. Proposed ditch grades shall also be shown on the plans when a ditch needs to be re-graded to provide positive flow or to provide adequate cover over the culvert. The cover, or depth of material over the culvert, should be equal to or greater than the diameter of the culvert.

• The applicant shall furnish and install the culvert approved on the site plan. The owner or person responsible for the approach shall maintain in perpetuity the culvert in reasonable condition.

• No culvert of less than 12" diameter may be installed.

• All culverts should be corrugated metal pipes made with steel of the proper gauge corresponding to its diameter, as shown below.

  Diameter	Gauge No.
  12" - 24"	16
  30" - 36"	14
  42" - 54"	12
  60" - 72"	10

• If the applicant wishes to install a culvert of material other than that above, approval must be obtained from the Livingston County Road Commission prior to installation.

 

 

A commercial driveway approach shall be located to provide adequate sight distance for exiting and entering movements (see Sight Distance section). The Road Commission reserves the right to reject a location that is not in the best interest of public safety.

All portions of a commercial driveway approach, including the radii but excluding deceleration lanes and tapers, shall be located entirely within the applicant's property lines extended at right angles to the center of the road.

The center of a commercial driveway approach should be located at least 50 feet from the applicant’s property line.

The center of a commercial driveway approach may be located directly opposite an existing road approach. If offset, the center of the driveway approach should be located at least 250 feet from the center of the existing road approach, regardless of whether the approaches are on the same or opposite side of the road. In the event that site-specific conditions make this requirement unfeasible, the approaches shall be offset the greatest possible distance, but not less than 150 feet. The Livingston County Road Commission reserves the right to increase or decrease these offset requirements, in the interest of public safety, or based on site-specific conditions.

The center of a commercial driveway approach may be located directly opposite an existing commercial driveway approach. If offset, the center of the new driveway approach should be located at least 250 feet from the center of the existing driveway approach, regardless of whether the approaches are on the same or opposite side of the road. In the event that site-specific conditions make this requirement unfeasible, the approaches shall be offset the greatest possible distance. The Livingston County Road Commission reserves the right to increase or decrease these offset requirements, in the interest of public safety, or based on site-specific conditions.

The center of two commercial driveway approaches on the same property should be located at least 250 feet apart, measured parallel to the center of the road. In the event that special circumstances make this requirement unfeasible, the center of the driveways shall be offset the greatest possible distance, but not less than 150 feet.

The center of a commercial driveway approach shall be located at least 250 feet from the nearest track of any railroad-highway grade crossing.

A two-way commercial driveway approach shall be the standard driveway approach. Two-way commercial driveways may be either divided or undivided (see APPENDIX A). A two-way divided commercial driveway shall have a curbed island separating the entering and exiting movements. The Livingston County Road Commission may require a two-way divided approach under special circumstances in order to maximize sight distance for entering and exiting movements.

A one-way commercial driveway is a special case and may be allowed depending on the site-specific characteristics. A one-way driveway includes separate entering and exiting drives and shall be designed to facilitate the desired turning movements and to discourage prohibited movements. The distance between the center of the ingress drive and the center of the egress drive shall not be less than 100 feet. The installation and maintenance of directional signs and any other traffic control devices shall be the responsibility of the applicant and shall be shown on the site plan.

On each roadway, one approach is allowed for each commercial property where frontage is less than 350 feet. One additional approach may be permitted where frontage equals or exceeds 350 feet, or at the discretion of the Livingston County Road Commission, for site-specific reasons.

When both property owners abutting a common property line agree, they may construct a joint commercial driveway approach that shall have the same design features as a two-way commercial driveway approach. A joint commercial driveway approach shall be located within a recorded easement that is described on the deeds of each affected property and registered with the Livingston County Register of Deeds. Copies of the deeds and survey sketches shall be provided to the Livingston County Road Commission as part of the application and permit process.

A commercial driveway approach shall be surfaced from the edge of the traveled way to the right-of-way line with a material that is equal to or better than the surface of the roadway which it joins. The Livingston County Road Commission shall determine whether or not a material is equal to or better than the surface of the roadway.

Gravel approaches are allowed only on gravel roadways and shall be constructed with at least 7 inches of processed road gravel on 6 inches of Class-II sand.

Asphalt approaches shall be constructed with at least 3 inches of asphalt (2 lifts) on 7 inches of processed road gravel and 6 inches of Class-II sand.

Concrete approaches shall be constructed with at least 6 inches of concrete on 6 inches of Class-II sand.

The Road Commission may require a special pavement design under certain conditions including but not limited to poor soil, industrial or heavy truck use, or all-weather route.

On paved roadways with road shoulders, paved approaches shall follow the same grade as the road shoulder.

On gravel roadways, paved approaches shall not be paved closer than 5 feet to the existing road edge.

Any approach on a roadway designated as all weather shall be constructed with at least 2 inches of asphalt surface on 5 inches of asphalt base, 4 inches of processed road gravel and 6 inches of Class-II sand.

Any curb placed within the highway right-of-way shall be concrete. No curb shall be placed within the limits of a road shoulder.

The applicant will be required to prevent parking in the highway right-of-way. The Road Commission will not issue permits for commercial properties that encourage the stopping or standing of vehicles in the right-of-way or the backing of vehicles from the highway onto the sites.

Sight distance is the distance along a roadway that an object of specified height is continuously visible to a driver. The following sight distance values, according to the posted or absolute regulatory speed limit, are required for commercial driveway approaches.

Required Sight Distance (feet)
Speed Limit (mph)	Standard	Minimum Allowable
30 or below	500	350
35	575	400
40	650	450
45	725	500
50	800	550
55	875	600

The values listed as standard represent the minimum requirements for sight distance where existing roadway and site characteristics allow. Where conditions do not allow for the standard, the driveway shall be located in the best location, maximizing sight distance as close to the standard as possible. A permit will not be issued where the minimum allowable sight distance, based on speed conditions, cannot be achieved. In some instances, the Livingston County Road Commission may reduce the sight distance requirements where conditions limit vehicle speeds in the vicinity of the proposed approach.

On roadways serving through traffic that have a 25-mph prima facie limit posted, commercial driveway approaches shall meet the value listed as standard for sight distance.

Sight distance shall be measured on the edge of the roadway at the center of the approach, using an eye height of 3.5 feet above the road edge and sighting a target 4.25 feet high along the center of each lane on the road. A portion of the target being sighted shall be continuously in view for the required sight distance values. Further, the approach should be located to provide as much of the target in view as possible. The approach should also be located to maximize the view of oncoming traffic for a motorist on the existing county road preparing to turn left at the driveway.

The same sight distance required at the edge of the road shall be continuously provided, along the center of the approach, to a point 15 feet off the edge of the road. The Road Commission may reduce this requirement to a point not less than 10 feet off the edge of the road, depending on site-specific conditions.

A clear vision area, as shown in Figure 2, shall be provided prior to construction and use of any commercial driveway approach entering onto a roadway under the jurisdiction of the Livingston County Road Commission. To provide for adequate vision, all obstructions must be removed within the clear vision area. The property owner shall maintain the clear vision area in perpetuity.

Note: On multilane highways, clear vision shall be provided to the center of each lane in both directions of travel.

Figure 2. Clear vision requirement for commercial driveways.