Ticket Size Policy

APPROVED UPDATED
Valid January 1st, 2003
***Edited September 27, 2004***

The general rule is that on any one ticket a single locate may not be longer than one (1) mile. If the worksite on a single street will be longer than a mile, a second ticket must be issued. Any worksite on a single street exceeding two (2) miles requires that a third ticket will be issued, etc. Additionally, the following rules will apply when determining the number of tickets to be taken in individual circumstances:

You may not cross county lines on any one ticket. If the work location is to cross a county line, the first ticket will stop at the first county line and the second ticket will begin across the county line.

Example: The excavation is to go ¾ mile south on both sides of Main St. starting at Butler Road . The Brooks/Farmer county line is ¼ mile south of the Main Street and Butler Road intersection. The first ticket would be issued from Butler Road going south on Main Street for ¼ mile on both sides of the road to the Brooks county line. The second ticket would be issued from the Farmer county line going south on Main Street for ½ mile on both sides of the road.
Unless the caller requests otherwise with different instructions, any ticket being located within one (1) mile on a given stretch of road will include all rights of way and adjoining parallel easements (up to 200 feet in either direction along all crossing streets)
If the work will be taking place on an individual piece of property, a maximum of five (5) individual addresses (meaning five individual buildings or lots) will be allowed per ticket. As mentioned in Paragraph 1 above, if the work crosses a county line, the number of tickets and the one (1) mile rule remains in effect.

Specific Situations

Individual Addresses or Lots

Individual addresses or lots are defined as being the entire physical property including all adjoining rights of way. Excavators may be more specific and limit what needs to be located on a property, but they may not expand upon this definition.

Intersections

An intersection locate begins at the center point of the requested intersection and will be located 200 feet in all directions in the right of way from the center point. If an excavator requests additional footage to be located that exceeds 200 feet on one or more of the secondary streets, a second ticket must be issued. The total distance end to end of the locate request on that street must not exceed the one (1) mile limit or go into another county as stated above.

Example 1 – Locate the intersection of Oak St. and Elm St. In this case the locator will begin the locate in the center of the intersection and locate 200 feet in all directions.

Example 2 – From the intersection of Oak St. and Elm St. locate 1300 feet east on Oak St. and 700 feet west on Oak St. This is acceptable on one ticket. Therefore, the locate will include 200 feet north on Elm St. and 200 feet south on Elm St.

Example 3 – From the intersection of Oak St and Elm St. locate 1300 feet east on Oak St and 700 feet west on Oak St. In addition, locate 500 feet north on Elm St. and 300 feet south on Elm St. This would require two tickets. One ticket would describe the 2000 foot locate on Oak St. and the other would describe the 800 foot locate on Elm St.

Interstates

An excavator may request up to one (1) mile along an interstate when work will take place in the road or right of way. The direction of traffic or travel must be specified in the locate request, i.e. Northbound, Southbound, Eastbound, Westbound, etc. Each directional lane is to be treated as an individual road.

Example – Locate I-75 Northbound starting at Mile Post 17 to Mile Post 18. If the excavator wants both northbound and southbound located, two tickets would be required.

1. Parallel Excavation – Parallel Excavation (road shoulder, for example) is subject to this policy.

2. Medians – Medians may be requested in a locate request.

3. Crossing an Interstate – When the excavation is limited to crossing an interstate, only one locate request is necessary and will cover all lanes.

4. Entrance and Exit Ramps – Ramps require separate locate requests. An excavator may request utilities be located on an entrance or exit ramp. If requested, this can include up to 200 feet along the interstate at the beginning of an exit ramp or up to 200 feet along the interstate at the end of an entrance ramp.

Multi-Family Dwellings

Apartment Complexes, Condominium Complexes, and Mobile Home Communities:

At an Apartment Complex, Condominium or a Mobile Home Community, a maximum of five (5) buildings or other areas such as pool-area, clubhouse, tennis-court, entrance, etc. may be included on one location request. If the entire complex has no more than (5) buildings or other areas, the excavator may request the entire property.

Large Properties or Facilities such as Shopping Malls, Airports, etc.:

If the excavator is excavating on a property that includes a large amount of acreage, the Customer Service Representative (CSR) or web ticket user will grid the location request based on the best information available and suggest one or both of the following:

1. Request that the locator contact the excavator to schedule a meeting so that the excavator can show the locator exactly where the work is to be done.

2. Request that the excavator mark the route or boundary of the proposed excavation by means of white paint, white stakes or white flags.

Subdivisions & Unnamed Streets:

Entire subdivisions are not accepted even if the excavator states that the streets are not yet named or the street signs have not been posted. When this is the case, the person entering the ticket must instruct the excavator that they need to assign names or labels to the streets in question. This can be as simple as Street A, Street B, Street C, etc. The locate request may then be entered for each street. There should also be a note placed in the remarks section of the location request that the excavator assigned the street names or labels and will provide a map of the area to the locators if necessary. The CSR or web ticket user should ask the excavator for specific driving directions that will be included in the remarks section and request that the locator and excavator meet on site to ensure accuracy.

Nearest Cross Street:

The nearest cross street must be a street that the CSR or web ticket user can find on the map. If the nearest cross street is new, the street will not be in our database. In this case, the person entering the ticket must obtain driving directions from the nearest known cross street to the site of the excavation.

Final Notes:

1. The caller must provide enough information for the CSR to determine where the excavation is taking place. In new developments this may include driving directions if the nearest cross street is also new. In addition, a contact number for the excavator should be obtained whenever possible to assist the locator .

2. Utilities Protection Center reserves the right to make the final determination as to what is sufficient information for the locate request. Please read the following from the Official Code of Georgia (Annotated) Title 25. Fire Protection and Safety Chapter 9. Blasting of Excavating Near Utility Facilities O.C.G.A.

§ 25-9-6 (2000) § 25-9-6. Prerequisites to blasting or excavating; marking of sites (a) (1) Describe the tract or parcel of land upon which the blasting or excavation is to take place with sufficient particularity, as defined by the policies developed and promulgated by the utilities protection center, to enable the facility owner or operator to ascertain the precise tract or parcel of land involved;…