Carter County water line installer bonds.
Quote on review.
Carter County Resolution No. 645 lets the Highway Superintendent require collateral, such as a surety bond, from anyone laying a water line in a county road right-of-way, to ensure the road is repaired to the same quality as before. The Superintendent sets the amount, and a specialist quotes it, usually within one business day.
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How much does a Carter County water line installer bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
Built around the right-of-way permit.
The Highway Department wants the permit request, the construction plans and the collateral together before work starts in a county road. Here is the whole process:
Send us the file
Apply online with your business details, the bond amount the Highway Superintendent entered on your Carter County permit request, and the date you plan to start. If the amount is not set yet, call the Highway Department first — the figure comes from them, not from us.
A surety specialist underwrites it
A specialist reviews the amount, the length of the line and how it crosses or runs along the road, your restoration track record, and how long the County may hold the bond after the work, then returns a quote. The County fixes the amount — underwriting decides approval and any collateral.
Execute & deliver to the Highway Department
Once you bind, we issue the executed bond with the power of attorney attached, ready to deliver with your permit request to the Carter County Highway Department at 1246 Stateline Road, Elizabethton.
What it is and who needs it.
What the Carter County water line bond guarantees
Carter County does not call this a “water line installer bond” in its own rules. The requirement comes from Resolution No. 645, “A Resolution to Adopt Regulations Governing the Use of the County Right-of-Way by Utilities,” adopted by the Carter County Board of County Commissioners on April 18, 2016. Section 1 applies the rules to every utility, and it names water lines expressly alongside electricity, gas, communications and sewerage. Section 2 says that, except in an emergency, anyone must obtain a permit from the county highway department before performing any work within the county right-of-way.
Section 8 is the bond rule. The chief administrative officer of the Highway Department — the elected Highway Superintendent — may require an applicant to post collateral to ensure the county road and right-of-way will be repaired to the same quality as before the excavation. The Superintendent decides the form, amount and sufficiency. The permit request form (Attachment A) lists a surety bond, letter of credit or cashier’s check as accepted forms, delivered to the Superintendent to guarantee your work follows the construction plan, the regulations and any special conditions on the permit. A bond keeps your cash free for the job.
The collateral has teeth. If you damage the right-of-way and do not repair it as the regulations require, proceeds are payable to the county highway fund. If work is abandoned for 30 consecutive days (or a shorter period set in the permit), the Superintendent may cash the collateral to finish the project, and any leftover goes back to you. Under Section 9, if a deficiency is not corrected within 30 days of written notice, the Superintendent may use the collateral to repair the road. Section 9 also requires the right-of-way to be repaired if it is damaged later by line failure or leakage — which is why a water line bond can stay open after the trench is closed.
The technical rules in Attachment B shape what the bond is really backing. Underground utilities go in the back five feet of the right-of-way, at least 36 inches deep with tracer wire. Lines under paved county roads are bored and cased at 36 inches. Asphalt may not be cut for five years after new paving or three years after chip seal, every cut needs the Superintendent’s written approval, and the installer must return within six months to pave 50 feet on both sides of a cut. It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and Carter County (the obligee). If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety.
You need this bond if you’re
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Execute & deliver to the Highway Department. Once you bind, we issue the executed bond with the power of attorney attached, ready to deliver with your permit request to the Carter County Highway Department at 1246 Stateline Road, Elizabethton.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one underwriting review.
These are the actual issuing fields — your business details, the bond amount the Highway Superintendent set on your permit, and the effective date. Submit once and a surety specialist reviews it and returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Tennessee bonds.
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Get bonded and get into the right-of-way.
Send us the amount on your Carter County permit, and a surety specialist sizes, underwrites, and quotes the bond — typically within one business day. Free until issued.