Longitudinal or Common-Ditch Agreements are used when highway and railroad ROW run parallel. These agreements usually entail the use of the ditch area that exists between the railroad property and the highway ROW. As in Crossing Agreements, the negotiation and preparation of a Longitudinal Agreement is the responsibility of the Railroad Section of the Traffic Operations Division in coordination with the Railroad Project Coordinator in the District. The Director of the Traffic Operations Division is the only person authorized to execute these agreements on behalf of TxDOT. A signed and sealed property description and parcel sketch detailing the common usage area must be attached to the agreement. A copy of the agreement should be transmitted by the District to the ROW Program Office for their records. At the option of TxDOT, the agreement may or may not be recorded in the deed records of the appropriate county. The type of agreement entered into by and between TxDOT and the railroad company is similar to the Crossing Agreement and will only give TxDOT a license to use the property. As in the situation of a Crossing Agreement, if the interest owned in the property by the railroad company is only an easement and those rights are abandoned by the railroad, it will be necessary for TxDOT to acquire a property interest from the underlying fee owner. The area covered by these agreements should be shown on the ROW map for the project and should be designated by a parcel number followed by JUP (Joint Use Parcel).