I tried to leave paper history whenever I could because I knew the issue would not simply die. I can remember the traffic guy how he never says hello to anyone and when he is walking in every day he will only stare at the ground! What a place.

Paul those pictures look like a different setup. I remember a meter socket, going to a disconnect, then going to the traffic light equipment. In the picture there seems to be no disconnect...


??

Don't look too hard at the FDOT. It will scare you! We have inspected up to the meter socket. Have not been invited lately. Schools, universities, community colleges are all under the Florida Building Code. FDOT stays out on its own.

Next time you enter a school zone check out the flashing light. On one end is a controller with a time clock (that does not know when it is summer and school is out) and 1/2 mile down the road is a metal pole holding the "SCHOOL ZONE" sign for the other direction, with a flashing light on top. Usually a cross walk there that encourages people to lean on the metal pole. The feed down the 1/4 mile is mounted on the poles, a piece of duplex; Neutral and Hot. No grounding conductor. No ground at the remote light.
FDOT is big on driving a bunch of ground rods trying to get a low resistance ground; but not pulling a 'green wire' to the other side of the street, etc


Lynn Adams
Cheif Electrical Inspector, Escambia County
Past president of Panhandle IAEI

Mr. Cameron,
We are examining the issue of permits for the FDOT work in our area as well. It seems that the FDOT lost their exemption from permits and inspections at the same time the schools, universities, and community colleges lost theirs. But it has not been common practice to permit and inspect their projects. (See my post at the end of this thread...)

I cannot find any specific exemption for FDOT. I cannot find any reference to exemption for the oft quoted "on the right-of-way" comment made in this thread.

Can you help me find the specific allowance or requirement that this work be inspected? I know that the State does have inspectors, but they are NOT necessarily licensed inspectors under FSS 468; so it would not seem they could say they were providing the oversight. And the work is not being done by the state, but by contractors and sub-contractors working on a project for the state.

Thank you for your comments.

Lynn Adams

Lynn,
I was not aware that the state school board lost their exemption from local ahj intervention.
Where is that statement located at?

Lynn,

The FDOT "inspectors" typically inspect soil conditions, layering of material, etc., they are not inspectors as we know them under 468, like you say. My catch was that the entity installing the traffic light services was a subcontractor. They need the power company to "energize" and they were told that only the county had the power to release power. So it trickled down from there.

A good place to begin is with FDOT specifications for traffic control devices. Their page for this can be found here:

Traffic Systems — Product Specification...Signal Devices)

The specifications for the electrical service, complete with references back to NEC, can be found here:

SECTION A639
ELECTRICAL POWER SERVICE ASSEMBLY

The design standards page can be found here:

Design Standards

And the diagram for the electrical service can be found here:

Electrical Service Diagram


The FDOT website is LOADED with information and it could literally take days to go through it all. I reference it frequently when I am involved with ADA related work. It is very helpful, and their goal seems to be to have all the information online.

To answer your question though, there would be an exception if they were exempt. I can find no such exemption in F.S. 553, or any other statute, the FBC, nor the NEC. Seems like if there was an exemption, we would be able to locate it. If someone knows of an exemption from permitting requirements or NEC please post back and let us know.

For the disciplines regulated by the CLIB state inspectors have been required to be licensed just like everyone else since 1996. That was why I had my job. In 1995 I was sent the request to bid precisely because I was one of the relatively rare people who had a BN license and not working for a municipality. The state also required permits but they were writing them in house. (DMS)
Once the Florida building code was in place, they stopped internal permitting through DMS. Some agencies were planning to keep doing their own permitting tho. I am not sure how that worked out.
Juvenile Justice was one that was looking at it. Do you get permits from them?