bridge, including approaches, under the jurisdiction of the commission.

This article is limited to state highways which are or shall become freeways. Article 2 (commencing with Section 670), except as inconsistent with this article, applies to freeways.

Whenever the department requires any utility to remove any utility facility lawfully maintained in the right of way of any freeway to a location entirely outside the freeway right of way, the department shall pay the reasonable and necessary cost of such removal. This includes both the cost of removal and the cost of relocation in a new location outside of the freeway right of way.

This section does not apply to the relocation of the utility facility from one point in a freeway to another point in the freeway, including the relocation in any service road or outer highway of the freeway or from one point of crossing of the freeway to another and reasonable point of crossing.

Whenever the department requires a publicly owned utility to relocate within a freeway any utility facility lawfully maintained in any freeway which was not a state highway at the time such utility facility was originally installed therein, the department shall pay the cost of such relocation.

Whenever the department requires a privately owned utility to relocate within a freeway any utility facility used solely to supply water, which facility is lawfully maintained in any freeway which was not a state highway at the time such utility facility was originally installed therein, the department shall pay the cost of such relocation.

Whenever the department requires a privately owned utility to relocate within a freeway any utility facility, other than one used solely to supply water, which facility is lawfully maintained in any freeway which was not a state highway at the time such utility facility was originally installed therein, and it is established by the utility that it is not under express contractual obligation to relocate such facility at its own expense, the department shall pay the cost of such relocation.

A permit containing a contractual obligation which was accepted by the utility for maintenance or minor improvement of the facility after such road became a state highway shall not constitute a contractual obligation within the meaning of this section.

Publicly owned sewers and fire hydrants and any street lighting structure, whether publicly or privately owned, in any freeway shall be relocated, where necessary, at the expense of the department.

If the department requires the relocation within the right of way of any utility facility more than once within a period of 10 years, the department shall pay the cost of the second relocation and any subsequent relocation within such 10-year period.

In any case in which the department is required under the provisions of this article to pay the cost of removal or relocation of any utility facility, it shall be entitled to credits as follows:

A credit shall not be allowed against any portion of the cost which is otherwise chargeable to the utility.

A credit allowance for age shall not be applied to publicly owned sewers.

The department and any utility required to remove a utility facility or to relocate any utility facility may, by agreement, provide for the respective amounts of the cost to be borne by each. The department may, without prejudice to its rights under Section 707, advance the cost of removal or relocation and if the department advances such cost, it is the duty of the utility to move its facilities as soon as reasonably possible so as not to delay freeway construction. In the case of any utility which is not financially able to bear the costs of removal or relocation, the department may by agreement provide for the work to be done on condition that the utility’s portion of the costs be repaid to the department over a period of time not exceeding 10 years.

Either party may maintain an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for an adjudication as to the obligations and costs to be borne by each party under such provisions of said contract at any time within four years after the cause of action first arose thereunder. Such a cause of action shall be deemed to arise upon and at the time of the completion by the utility of the removal or relocation in question, or at the time of breach of the agreement by either party. The filing of a claim with any state agency shall not be deemed a condition precedent to the maintenance by the utility of any such action.

In connection with the construction of State Highway Route 86 in Imperial County from Post Miles 58.4 to Post Miles 65.1 and the relocation of facilities of the Coachella Valley Water District necessitated by that project, the department may make a loan, for a term not exceeding 20 years, to the district for the relocation costs incurred, and to be incurred, by the district as a result of that project. The loan shall be subject to the terms and conditions that are mutually agreed upon, but shall require the district, in addition to making periodic payments on the loan, to annually pay to the department an amount at least equal to the sum of the pipeline portion of all development fees collected by the district during the preceding year in the service area served by the transverse waterline crossing of State Highway Route 86, less the district’s administrative and collection costs. The amounts so paid shall be deducted from the outstanding balance of the loan, and the remaining term of the loan correspondingly reduced.

In the event of failure to reach an agreement as provided in Section 706, the utility or the department may bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction for apportionment of the cost between them in accordance with the provisions of this article. Such an action may be commenced within three years from the date of completion by the utility of the removal or relocation in question. The filing of a claim with any state agency shall not be deemed a condition precedent to the maintenance by the utility of any such action.

(A) The department and any utility as defined in Section 700 of this code may enter into a contract providing for or apportioning the obligations and costs to be borne by each party as to either or both of the following subject matters:

Every utility is entitled to a permit for such reasonable crossings of any freeway, as may be required for the proper discharge of the utility’s service to the public.

The department shall exercise a reasonable discretion in acting on applications of utilities for permits to occupy freeways for longitudinal locations of facilities, as may be required for the proper discharge of their services to the public. The department may, however, refuse to grant any applications for any such longitudinal installation which would be inconsistent with public safety or the continued unobstructed use of the freeway for vehicular traffic, or for any type of utility structure inconsistent with the aesthetic values of any landscaped freeway within, or approaching within one mile of, the limits of any city.

The department, in acting upon applications for utility permits, shall consider both the interests of the traveling public upon the freeway and the needs of consumers for public utility services.

Nothing in this article is intended to prevent the department from making reasonable rules and regulations and requiring reasonable conditions in permits concerning the place, manner and method of location of utility facilities in, under, over or along freeways. Specifically, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the department may make regulations or require conditions to the end that the cutting of pavement on freeways and a consequential impairment of the use thereof by the traveling public, shall be avoided insofar as possible.