KRS § 177.020 — KY Code / Title XV / Chapter 177 / Section 177.020
177.020 State primary roads to be designated and controlled by the Department of Highways -- Notice to fiscal court and affected citizens -- Rural secondary road system -- Maintenance -- Administrative regulations
Status: in_force

177.020 State primary roads to be designated and controlled by the Department of

Highways -- Notice to fiscal court and affected citizens -- Rural secondary road

system -- Maintenance -- Administrative regulations.

(1) The state primary road system shall consist of such public roads and city streets

within the state as the Department of Highways determines shall be established,

constructed, or maintained by the Department of Highways.

(2) The department shall, in its discretion, determine which public roads, or city streets,

shall be established, constructed, or maintained by it, and shall determine the type

of construction or maintenance for that road or city street.

(3) In the establishment of the state primary road system, the Department of Highways

is authorized to select new routes, deviate from an existing route whenever it deems

such deviation proper, eliminate from the state primary system roads or city streets

which have been replaced as proper part of the system by the construction of a new

facility or the selection of a new route. No permanent ingress or egress ramp of the

state primary road system on fully controlled access facilities shall be closed, except

for repairs, unless a public hearing is first held in the area to be affected by the

closing. The Department of Highways shall, at least twenty (20) days before the

hearing, advertise in a newspaper of general circulation in the area to be affected by

the closing, the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(4) Prior to the advertisement for bids on any highway construction project, the

Department of Highways shall meet with the fiscal court in the jurisdiction of the

construction project for the purpose of advising the fiscal court of any state road or

road segment which the department may seek to eliminate from the state primary

road system upon completion of that highway construction project. The requirement

of this subsection shall be in addition to the requirements of subsection (5) of this

section.

(5) The department shall notify the fiscal court of the county at least four (4) months

before it eliminates a road, road segment, bridge, or street in that county from the

state primary road system. Upon receiving notice, the fiscal court may reject title

and notify the department that the road shall not become part of the county road

system. If the fiscal court declines, the department shall give notice to all private

persons entitled to a necessary access over this road of their rights under this

chapter; and, by petition of any private party entitled to such access, the road shall

be deemed a discontinued state road and shall be closed to public use but remain

open in accordance with its condition and use for the access of the private parties

involved. In the absence of such petition, title shall be transferred to the owner or

owners of the tract or tracts of land to which the road originally belonged.

(6) As used in this section, the term "rural secondary roads" shall mean the system of

roads in this state which are usually considered farm-to-market roads and that are

classified as part of the rural secondary road system by the Department of

Highways. The roads in the rural secondary system shall be maintained with the

proceeds of the provisions of KRS 177.320(1) and in no case shall the rural

secondary system, as defined in this subsection, be less than eleven thousand eight

hundred (11,800) miles.

(7) The establishment, construction, or maintenance of the state primary road system

shall be under the direction and control of the Department of Highways. The

commissioner of highways is authorized to adopt regulations necessary to the

administration of this authority.