Barrow County, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 89-1322 governs any private encroachment into a Barrow County road right-of-way or public easement. Utility installations, pavement cuts, and associated road or lane closures all require review, approval and permitting by the director of public works before the work begins; applications are made directly to that office. The right-of-way encroachment permit is a companion to the county's separate driveway permit under section 89-1321, which similarly requires public works approval, and Georgia Department of Transportation sign-off, for any driveway connecting to a state or U.S. numbered highway.

Once issued, a right-of-way encroachment permit has a hard clock: the work must start within 90 days of issuance, and it must be completed within six months, or the permit expires and the applicant must obtain a new one before beginning or finishing the job. That timing mirrors the driveway permit's own 90-day start deadline and six-month completion window under section 89-1321(b), reflecting the county's broader development-permit practice of requiring active work rather than letting an approved right-of-way disturbance sit open indefinitely. The public works director's review looks at how the proposed cut, closure or installation affects drainage, road base, traffic flow and the county's own infrastructure within the right-of-way, and can attach conditions to the permit covering restoration of pavement, curbing or landscaping disturbed by the work.