This bill amends the existing law regarding the construction and maintenance of utility lines and structures on public highways in Michigan. It allows telecommunication and utility companies, as well as municipalities, to enter upon and maintain their infrastructure on public roads and rights-of-way, provided they obtain consent from the local governing body. The bill introduces new provisions that require the state transportation department to establish standards for the collocation of projects, including aboveground lines, in limited access highway rights-of-way. It also specifies that these standards must ensure that the placement of lines does not increase maintenance costs for the state transportation department.

Additionally, the bill establishes a new section (13a) that mandates the state transportation department to coordinate with utility companies and transmission line developers to identify permissible locations for transmission lines along highway corridors. It requires the department to share future project plans that may affect transmission line placement and to prepare a constructability report for collocation projects. This report must outline the terms for construction and provide a timeline during which the state cannot request the relocation of the transmission line. Furthermore, if relocation is necessary, the state must provide at least five years' notice to the utility before the project begins.

Statutes affected:
Senate Introduced Bill: 247.183