Washington County, AR Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

00(3), part of the county's Standards and Specifications for Road and Highway Construction, makes it unlawful for any individual, organization, or business to cut a ditch or trench across or along a county road right-of-way for any purpose without first getting a permit from the County Road Department. The permit itself carries a time limit for completing and repairing the roadway cut, and that deadline is set by the County Judge rather than fixed by ordinance, so it can be tailored to the scope of the work.

Every applicant must post security before the cut happens: a cash bond, a surety bond issued by a corporate surety, or a property bond secured by adequate property located within Washington County, in an amount the County Judge sets uniformly for each proposed cut across a county or public road. That bond runs in favor of Washington County, Arkansas itself, and its purpose is narrow and specific: guaranteeing the roadbed is properly repaired within the permit's time limits, not covering unrelated damage. The ordinance also draws a liability line for the county: Washington County is not held liable for cuts to utility lines located within the road right-of-way, so a contractor who severs a buried line while cutting a permitted trench bears that risk, not the county.

The County Judge reports the amount set for any bonds posted under this section back to the Quorum Court, giving the county's legislative body ongoing visibility into how the bonding authority is being used. This permit sits alongside, but is distinct from, the county's separate driveway drainage-tile requirement in the same section, which governs culverts rather than ditch or trench cuts.