Amarillo Crane Permits, Power Line Clearance, FAA Notice and Road Rules

A crane job in Amarillo can answer to the City, OSHA, the State of Texas and the FAA at the same time, and each writes its own rule. The City of Amarillo controls work in its streets, alleys, sidewalks and easements. OSHA and the State both set distances from overhead power lines. The Federal Aviation Administration wants notice of a tall boom near Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport or Tradewind Airport, and the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles permits a crane or machine too large for the road. Digging brings in Texas 811 and OSHA's trench rules. Each section below opens with the short answer, then sets out the rule in its source's own words, with the section number and a link to its text.

We work through these rules before a date is set. When a crane must stand on a City of Amarillo street, sidewalk or right-of-way, we tell you which City permit and traffic control plan the job needs. We check the site against OSHA's line distances and the six-foot rule in Texas law, including its 48-hour notice to the line's operator, and say what has to be arranged and by whom. Near an airport we run the site through the 14 CFR 77.9 criteria and say whether a Form 7460-1 is needed; it goes in 45 days or more before work. The only dollar figures on this page are public fees and penalties as each agency prints them; national price ranges for cranes and machines sit on the crane and equipment cost page.

City of Amarillo Right-of-Way Permits and Traffic Control

Plan on two City approvals when a crane or machine will stand in an Amarillo street, alley, sidewalk or easement: a right-of-way permit from the Right of Way Division and a traffic control plan accepted by Traffic Engineering. The City calls its right of way "land owned or controlled by the city, including roadways, streets, sidewalks, alleys, and easements," and the Right of Way Division, part of the Capital Projects and Development Engineering Department, handles permits for construction there. None of the City pages we read on right of way, traffic, streets or building safety describes a separate crane or street-use permit, so we confirm with the City what your job needs before the date is fixed. The City's Right of Way Division page states "All permit applications must be submitted via the eBuilder software," and first-time users file a New User Request form before applying.

The City Engineer controls timing. The division's page says "No work is allowed on weekends or between 6:00 pm and 7:00 am on weekdays, unless approved by the City Engineer," with emergencies also excepted, and the City's construction permit form, dated June 2016, says "All methods, dates, times, etc. are subject to approval of the City Engineer." That form asks for the application "Five (5) business days" ahead when the work needs no permanent structure and covers less than 1000 linear feet of facilities, and "Ten (10) business days for all other projects," and it requires "A notice of at least four (4) business hours" before every inspection. A truck crane parked at the curb to set a rooftop unit is one job these rules can reach; our truck crane rental page covers the crane sizes and reach.

The City's Traffic Engineering page tells contractors to "Submit all traffic control plans to the Traffic Engineering Department for review and acceptance prior to implementation." For general work, "Traffic control plans do not need to be prepared or stamped by a professional engineer," but City contract work under Subsection 9.04 of the Standard Specifications (revised June 8, 2016) needs a plan "signed and sealed by a licensed engineer in the State of Texas," and "No work shall be permitted without an accepted TCP." A plan rests on "a review of actual field conditions," lists each party with "a 24-hour number for the traffic control contact," and gives the expected duration and the traffic control hours, which "differ from work hours." Devices follow the latest Texas MUTCD, and OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.200 and 1926.201 tie construction signs, devices and flaggers to Part 6 of the MUTCD.

• Permit fee on the Right of Way Division's table: $260.00, plus a $10.00 technology fee; the City adds that "ROW permit fees depend on the type of work."
• Re-inspection fee: $50.00, plus the $10.00 technology fee.
• Working in the right-of-way with no permit: $500.00 for each day, plus $10.00.
• Where to ask: the Right of Way Division, second floor of the Simms Municipal Building, 808 S Buchanan St, Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
• Standard traffic notes: channelizing devices of 28-inch cones or 39-inch tubular markers, open work kept at least five feet from operating traffic lanes "where possible," and no-parking signs posted 72 hours ahead when the plan calls for them.
• Excavation for utility work in a street or alley: a separate Street Division permit under Sec. 4-6-205, whose application includes plans for the digging and for restoring the street, a bond or cash security, and insurance.

Power Line Clearance: OSHA's 20-Foot Rule and the Texas 6-Foot Law

Two rules govern a crane near an overhead line in Texas: OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.1408 asks whether any part of the crane, load line or load "could get closer than 20 feet to a power line" up to 350 kV, and Texas Health and Safety Code chapter 752 keeps machines six feet from a line over 600 volts until its operator is notified and a safeguard agreed. Under OSHA's power line rule for cranes, the work zone may be "the area 360 degrees around the equipment, up to the equipment's maximum working radius," and the employer must "assume that all power lines are energized" unless the utility confirms otherwise. Inside 20 feet the employer picks Option (1), deenergize and ground; Option (2), hold 20 feet; or Option (3), keep the Table A distance for the line's voltage, which the utility has two working days to supply.

29 CFR 1926.1408(b) lists the encroachment precautions: a planning meeting with the operator and crew on where the lines run, non-conductive tag lines if any are used, a warning line raised above the ground, a barricade or a row of signs where the operator can see it, and one further safeguard at least, such as a proximity alarm, a dedicated spotter in constant contact, an automatic warning or range-limiting device, or an insulating link. For lines over 350 kV, 29 CFR 1926.1409 writes in "the distance '50 feet'" wherever 20 feet appears, up to 1000 kV. 29 CFR 1926.1410 prohibits work closer than Table A unless every listed condition is met, among them that doing the work outside Table A, and deenergizing or moving the line, are infeasible, a meeting with the utility, automatic reclosing disabled where the design permits, and barricades "at least 10 feet away from the equipment."

Health and Safety Code section 752.003 has whoever runs temporary work closer than six feet notify the line's operator "at least 48 hours before the work begins," and nothing starts until the parties have "negotiated a satisfactory mutual arrangement to provide temporary de-energization and grounding," "temporary relocation or raising of the line, or temporary mechanical barriers." The responsible party pays "the actual expense incurred by the operator," the operator "may require payment in advance," with any surplus refunded. Section 752.004 bars making an employee do the prohibited work, and section 752.005 covers operating, transporting, handling or storing equipment inside six feet. A violation is an offense "punishable by a fine of not less than $100 or more than $1,000," jail of up to one year, or both (section 752.007), and contact with a line makes the violator liable to its owner or operator (section 752.008).

• OSHA Table A, minimum clearance while operating (section 1926.1408): up to 50 kV, 10 feet.
• Over 50 to 200 kV: 15 feet.
• Over 200 to 350 kV: 20 feet.
• Over 350 to 500 kV: 25 feet.
• Over 500 to 750 kV: 35 feet.
• Over 750 to 1,000 kV: 45 feet.
• Over 1,000 kV: as set by the utility owner/operator or by a registered professional engineer who is a qualified person in power transmission and distribution.
• OSHA Table T, for a crane traveling with no load and its boom lowered (29 CFR 1926.1411): at 0.75 kV or less, 4 feet; more than 0.75 and up to 50 kV, 6 feet; more than 50 and up to 345 kV, 10 feet; more than 345 and up to 750 kV, 16 feet; more than 750 and up to 1,000 kV, 20 feet; and a dedicated spotter whenever any part will pass within 20 feet.
• Assembly and disassembly (section 1926.1407): no part of a crane may be assembled under a line or closer than the Table A minimum, except where the utility has deenergized the line and visibly grounded it at the worksite.

FAA Notice for Cranes Near Rick Husband Amarillo International and Tradewind

A crane around Amarillo needs notice to the FAA, on Form 7460-1 at least 45 days before work, when it will stand more than 200 feet above the ground at its site or rise through the imaginary surface that climbs away from a nearby runway; the bullets below give the FAA's notice criteria in 14 CFR 77.9 in order. The slope of that surface depends on the airport's longest runway. Rick Husband Amarillo International Airport, which the City places "six miles east of downtown Amarillo," has a 13,502-foot main runway, 200 feet wide, and a 7,901-foot crosswind runway, and the City calls the main one the "7th longest civilian runway in the U.S." The FAA's Chart Supplement lists Tradewind Airport (TDW) at "3 SE" with runways printed as "H5098X60" and "H3000X60," and, under its Amarillo heading, two small fields, Buffalo (1E7) and Palo Duro (1E4).

The FAA treats a crane as temporary construction. Its Part 77 notification page lists "Cranes, Boom Trucks" among its examples, says "All obstructions, whether permanent or temporary, are subject to the notice requirement," and recommends "a 45-60 day advance notification" because an aeronautical study takes time; the form is filed online. Under 14 CFR 77.13 the obstruction standards reach "equipment or materials used and any permanent or temporary apparatus," and item 4 of Form 7460-1 asks how long a temporary structure, "such as a crane or drilling derrick," will be up. Section 77.7 counts the 45 days back from the start date or the filing of a construction permit application, "whichever is earliest," and waives them for an emergency involving essential public services, public health or public safety, when the form follows "within 5 days." The form warns of a daily civil penalty for knowingly failing to file.

What comes back is a determination, not a permit. Under 14 CFR 77.31 the FAA issues a Determination of Hazard to Air Navigation when a structure would exceed an obstruction standard "and would have a substantial aeronautical impact," and otherwise a Determination of No Hazard, which may carry "Limitations necessary to minimize potential problems," "such as the use of temporary construction equipment," and "Marking and lighting recommendations." Under 14 CFR 77.33 a No Hazard determination expires "18 months after the effective date" unless extended, revised or terminated, while "A Determination of Hazard to Air Navigation has no expiration date." The City's Airport Overlay "Identifies where limitations for height and land use exist in proximity to the airport"; we could not read its adopted Chapter 4-9 text, so ask the City's Planning Department first. Published boom and tip heights are on our crawler crane rental page.

• 14 CFR 77.9(a): any construction or alteration "more than 200 ft. AGL at its site," at any distance from an airport.
• 14 CFR 77.9(b)(1): anything above "100 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 20,000 ft. from the nearest point of the nearest runway," where the airport's longest runway measures over 3,200 ft.
• 14 CFR 77.9(b)(2): anything above "50 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 10,000 ft." where the longest runway is no more than 3,200 ft.
• 14 CFR 77.9(b)(3): anything above "25 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 5,000 ft." from a heliport's landing and takeoff area.
• 14 CFR 77.9(d): any construction or alteration on the airports and heliports it lists, including a public use airport listed in the Airport/Facility Directory and an airport or heliport with at least one FAA-approved instrument approach procedure.
• 14 CFR 77.9(e)(1): no notice for an object shielded by existing structures "of a permanent and substantial nature" or by terrain of equal or greater height in a congested area, where it will not adversely affect air navigation.
• 14 CFR 77.11: when the structure tops 200 feet or the FAA asks, a supplemental notice is due, where the FAA sets no other time, "within 5 days after the structure reaches its greatest height," and notice is due within 5 days after it is dismantled.

Moving a Crane or Machine on Texas Roads: TxDMV Limits and Permits

A crane or machine needs no oversize/overweight permit while it stays inside the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles' legal limits, which TxDMV sets at 80,000 pounds gross, 14 feet of height and 8 feet 6 inches of width, with a cap on each axle group. Past any one of them, TxDMV says the vehicle and load "must have an oversize/overweight (OS/OW) permit." Applications go through TxPROS, where a Permit Wizard questions the applicant to match the load with a permit, and TxDMV says "Most permits can be self-issued, while some require review by the Permits Office before they are issued." Before applying, "you must know the exact dimensions and weight of your vehicle and load," and the toll-free permit line "closes at 4:30 p.m. each business day." Axle tables, Panhandle routes and hauling costs are on our heavy haul and machinery moving page.

Texas puts a self-propelled crane in a permit class of its own. 43 TAC section 219.2 defines an unladen lift equipment motor vehicle as "A motor vehicle, such as a crane or a concrete pump truck," "designed for use as lift equipment," and Transportation Code section 623.181 says "The department may issue an annual permit" for one that "exceeds the maximum weight or width limitations prescribed by statute." TxDMV's annual unladen lift equipment permit gives "24-hour movement" to cranes "9' wide or less, 14' high or less" and "65' long or less," and lets cranes no more than 10 feet 6 inches wide, 14 feet high and 95 feet long move at night with an escort in front and another behind. TxDMV adds, "You are responsible for routing and obtaining current restrictions prior to movement." The permits a crane or machine can travel on are listed below.

Permitted loads move by day unless an exception applies. 43 TAC section 219.11 says "A permitted vehicle may be moved only during the daytime unless" it is "overweight only," or it is on an interstate and "does not exceed 10 feet wide" "and 100 feet long," with legal overhang, or an exception allows nighttime movement "based on a route and traffic study conducted by TxDOT." Transportation Code section 541.401 runs daytime from "one-half hour before sunrise" to "one-half hour after sunset." On TxDMV's holiday list, "Vehicles and loads exceeding 14 feet wide, 16 feet high, or 110 feet long may not be moved" on Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day in 2026, or New Year's Day in 2027, "unless an exception is granted by TxDMV." The TxDMV curfew list effective September 30, 2025 has no entry for Amarillo, Potter County or Randall County.

• Annual unladen lift equipment permit, TxDMV: $100 a year (Transportation Code section 623.182); width up to 10 feet, height and length at the legal limits, gross weight to 120,000 pounds, single axles to 25,000 pounds, tandem groups to 46,000 pounds, and 650 pounds per inch of tire width; it runs one year from its "movement to begin" date.
• Single-trip mileage permit for unladen lift equipment, TxDMV: priced by miles with a $31 minimum; valid up to seven consecutive days; any single axle held to 30,000 pounds; 850 pounds per inch of tire width on non-steerable units and 950 on steerable ones; a unit heavier than 175,000 pounds needs escorts ahead and behind to cross a bridge.
• General single-trip permit, TxDMV: one movement of a load past legal limits up to 254,300 pounds; $60, plus a weight-based highway maintenance fee, $150 to $375, above 80,000 pounds gross, and a $35 vehicle supervision fee above 200,000 pounds, where at least 95 feet of total axle spacing is required.
• Superheavy permit, TxDMV: above 254,300 pounds, or 200,001 to 254,300 pounds on less than 95 feet of axle spacing; apply "three to four weeks before the permit is needed"; "The permit fee is $60," and "a $375 highway maintenance fee and the applicable vehicle supervision fee are required"; TxDOT route approvals stay valid 30 days from the movement date.
• Permit for equipment that "cannot reasonably be dismantled," Transportation Code section 623.071: for its annual permit, subsection (c)(3)(B) lists "12 feet in width;" "14 feet in height;" "110 feet in length; or" "120,000 pounds gross weight," and TxDMV may issue the permit only if the equipment can run "without material damage to the highway."
• Escorts and markings, TxDMV: width over 14 feet takes one escort and width over 16 feet takes two; height over 17 feet takes a lead escort "equipped with height pole"; a load reaching "beyond the vehicle's sides or more than four feet beyond" its rear wears 12-inch red flags at its extremities; escort vehicles carry yellow signs 5 to 7 feet long and 12 to 18 inches high with black lettering.

Digging in Amarillo: Texas 811 Notice and OSHA's Trench Rules

Texas law requires a locate request through Texas 811 at least two business days before digging, weekends and holidays not counted, whenever powered equipment will disturb soil "to a depth of 16 or more inches." Utilities Code section 251.151 sets the window at "not earlier than the 14th day" before work and no "later than the 48th hour" before it, "excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays," and a Saturday notice lets work start "the following Tuesday at 11:59 a.m. unless the intervening Monday is a holiday." Each Class A operator then marks its line by the 48th hour, using the American Public Works Association color codes (section 251.157). Texas811's FAQ says "Getting the lines marked is a FREE service," that a shallow dig still needs a request, and that you renotify "if the commencement is delayed beyond fourteen days of the original notice."

After a strike, section 251.159 has the excavator report it to the operator at once and hold off backfilling until the damage is reported and a repair schedule agreed; Texas811 adds, "If a gas line has been hit or damaged, you must also call 911." Under section 251.201, breaking section 251.151, 251.152 or 251.159 carries a civil penalty of $500 to $1,000; a second violation within a year raises it to $1,000 to $2,000, and a third to $2,000 to $5,000; residential owners digging their own lots are exempt. "An excavator who has fully complied with this chapter may not be liable for damage" to a facility not marked as the chapter requires. Texas811's FAQ cites APWA and industry practice for an 18-inch tolerance zone either side of a marked utility, and an emergency means work under way that very day that threatens "life, health, or property."

OSHA's Subpart P governs the open hole. Under 29 CFR 1926.651 the estimated location of buried utilities "shall be determined prior to opening an excavation," excavated material and equipment sit "at least 2 feet" back from the edge or behind a retaining device, a trench 4 feet deep or more gets a ladder, stairway or ramp within 25 feet of lateral travel, and a competent person inspects daily and "after every rainstorm or other hazard increasing occurrence." OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.652 requires a protective system against cave-ins for each worker in an excavation, except in one made entirely in stable rock or one under 5 feet deep where a competent person's examination shows no sign of a cave-in. In City streets and alleys the Street Division adds its own permit for utility excavation. Machines for this work are on our excavator rental page.

• OSHA maximum slopes for excavations less than 20 feet deep (Subpart P, Appendix B): stable rock, vertical (90 degrees).
• Type A soil: 3/4:1 (53 degrees); a short-term 1/2:1 (63 degrees) is allowed in Type A excavations 12 feet deep or less.
• Type B soil: 1:1 (45 degrees).
• Type C soil: 1-1/2:1 (34 degrees), the same slope 29 CFR 1926.652(b)(1)(i) uses when no other option is chosen.
• Excavations more than 20 feet deep: sloping or benching designed by a registered professional engineer.

Crane Operators, Riggers and Signal Persons Under OSHA Rules

On construction work, OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.1427 has the employer "ensure that each operator is trained, certified/licensed, and evaluated," and until then a person may run a crane only "as an operator-in-training under supervision." Where a state or local government licenses crane operators, its license is required and counts for "no longer than 5 years"; otherwise the operator holds a certification from an accredited testing organization, issued by equipment type or by type and capacity, or from an audited employer program, each valid for 5 years. OSHA's November 9, 2018 rule says third-party certification "is portable so that operators do not need to be re-certified just because they switch employers," while 29 CFR 1926.1427(e)(6)(i) makes an audited employer certification "Not portable." Each operator also gets a documented evaluation, required since February 7, 2019. OSHA's operator qualification rule leaves out derricks, sideboom cranes and equipment rated at 2,000 pounds or less.

Renting a crane does not take these duties off the job. OSHA's crane FAQ says "Crane lessors who provide operators and/or maintenance personnel with the equipment" "have duties under the cranes standard," and that "employers, not employees, are responsible for meeting the requirements of OSHA's standards." On an operated rental, section 1926.1427 applies to the operator who comes with the crane; on a bare rental your operator must meet it, and we ask who will run the machine. NCCCO is one accredited certifier: its 2023 handbook says CCO was founded in 1995, that its program is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board to ISO 17024, and that CCO certification "meets all the requirements set forth by the OSHA rule." OSHA's 2018 rule adds that "employers must still determine through evaluation if operator training already provided is sufficient."

A signal person is required when the load's path or landing "is not in full view of the operator," when the view is blocked while the crane travels, or when the operator or load handler calls for one (29 CFR 1926.1419). OSHA's 29 CFR 1926.1428 has the employer confirm the qualification "prior to giving any signals," through a third party qualified evaluator's documentation or its own qualified evaluator, whose assessment "is not portable"; either way the person passes "an oral or written test" and "a practical test." A qualified rigger ("a rigger who meets the criteria for a qualified person," section 1926.1401) rigs any load hoisted while workers are in the fall zone (29 CFR 1926.1425). ASME's P30.1 sorts lift plans into a "Standard Lift Plan and Critical Lift Plan"; our rigging and lift planning page covers both, and our Amarillo wind and weather data gives the monthly wind.

• License: where a state or local government issues crane operator licenses, the operator holds one, valid for this rule for no longer than 5 years.
• Accredited certification: from a testing organization accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, by equipment type or type and capacity; valid 5 years and portable between employers.
• Audited employer program: valid 5 years and not portable, good only while the operator works for the employer that issued it.
• U.S. military qualification: only for Department of Defense or Armed Forces employees operating for the issuer; private contractors use another route.
• Evaluation, whatever the route: skills and knowledge for the crane's size and configuration, including lifting capacity, boom length, attachments, luffing jib and counterweight set-up, plus blind lifts, personnel hoisting and multi-crane lifts where the work includes them, documented by the employer.
• Who pays: the employer provides certification or licensure "at no cost to employees."
• Forklifts and telehandlers: OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.178(l), applied to construction by 29 CFR 1926.602(d), calls for training, plus an evaluation "at least once every three years"; we ask that operators of forklifts, telehandlers and aerial lifts be trained as OSHA and ANSI/SAIA require.