N.Y. HAY Law § 340-B — New York Code / Act HAY / Article 12 / Section 340-B
Construction, improvement and maintenance of state interstate highways
Status: in_force

§ 340-b. Construction, improvement and maintenance of state interstate\nhighways. 1. The highway routes and connections set forth and described\nin section three hundred forty-a of the highway law shall be designated\n"interstate highways" and shall be constructed or improved according to\nsuch designs and types as determined by the commissioner of\ntransportation, subject to the provisions of federal aid therefor. Each\ninterstate highway shall ultimately provide for not less than two lanes\nof traffic in each direction. Opposing traffic on every completed\ninterstate highway shall ultimately be separated by a mall generally or\nthe commissioner of transportation may separate such opposing traffic by\nsuch other alignment of respective lanes of traffic which, in his\njudgment, is practicable, because of topographic conditions and is\nbeneficial to the public interest. Access from one traffic direction to\nthe other shall be provided only at such points and in such manner as\nthe commissioner of transportation shall determine. Any state highway,\nfrontage, marginal and service road or portion thereof may be utilized\nand become a part of any interstate highway when authorized by the\ncommissioner of transportation, provided such highway or portion thereof\neither meets the prescribed requirements of an interstate highway or is\nappropriately altered so as to come within such requirements before its\nincorporation into the interstate highway. Access or branch connections\nfrom any such interstate highway or section thereof to any highway that\nis authorized by this chapter shall, in the discretion of the\ncommissioner of transportation, be included in the plans, specifications\nand estimates and shall be constructed according to such design and type\nas the commissioner of transportation shall deem to be suitable for the\npurposes thereof. For any portion or section of an interstate highway\nauthorized within the corporate limits of a city, provision shall be\nmade for access thereto from existing streets at points designated by\nthe commissioner of transportation. After the establishment of any\ninterstate highway no additional points of access to, or exit from, the\nproject shall be made without prior approval by the commissioner of\ntransportation and the federal bureau of public roads. The commissioner\nof transportation may set monuments on the boundaries of such interstate\nhighways, and he may cause fences to be erected along or adjacent to\nsuch boundaries, and he is authorized to install suitable lighting,\ndirectional and protective facilities, devices and appurtenances, if he\ndeems it necessary in the interests of public safety. The maintenance\nand repair of interstate highways shall include the control of snow and\nice and shall be done by forces of the department of transportation or\nby such other method or methods as determined by the commissioner, under\nhis direct supervision and control and any inconsistent provisions of\nthis chapter are superseded insofar as they conflict with this\nprovision. The cost of such maintenance and repair shall be borne wholly\nby the state and be paid for from moneys appropriated therefor by the\nlegislature. The maintenance of any highway, road or street which is\naffected by this section and which in the judgment of the commissioner\nof transportation is not deemed to be a part of the state highway system\nshall be maintained by the municipality or the municipalities in which\nall or part thereof is located.\n  2. The commissioner of transportation is authorized to classify any\npart of an interstate highway as a controlled access highway pursuant to\nthis chapter. Highway and railroad grade crossings shall be separated\ngenerally by structures to be determined by the commissioner of\ntransportation, who is hereby given authority to combine, connect,\nalter, reconstruct, terminate or relocate intersecting highways,\nstreets, or roads to adjust traffic to such grade separation structures\nor any portion of an interstate route or connection. In the discretion\nof the commissioner of transportation, a structure may be constructed to\neliminate an existing crossing at grade of a railroad and a highway\nwhich intersects or closely parallels an interstate highway. The entire\ncost of structures constructed pursuant to this paragraph as so\ndetermined by the commissioner of transportation shall be included in\nthe cost of the interstate highway. Structures constructed pursuant to\nthis paragraph shall be maintained and repaired by the state. Highways\ncombined, connected, altered, reconstructed, relocated or carried over\nor under an interstate highway section or connection, under the\nprovisions of this paragraph, shall, upon completion of the work, revert\nto and become the responsibility with regard to maintenance and repair,\nof the state, municipality, authority, commission or other public\nagency, as the case may be, formerly having jurisdiction thereover.\n  3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this chapter or any\nother law, general or special, any and all property which the\ncommissioner of transportation deems necessary for the construction,\nreconstruction and maintenance of interstate highways and bridges\nthereon shall be acquired pursuant to the provisions of any section or\nsections of this chapter applicable to the acquisition of land or rights\nand interests therein, and for the settlement of claims for damage\nresulting from the work of constructing, reconstructing and maintaining\nsuch interstate highways. The commissioner of transportation, for the\npeople of the state of New York, shall acquire pursuant to the aforesaid\nprocedures any property or interest therein, necessary for any and all\npurposes connected with the construction, reconstruction and maintenance\nof the interstate highway system of the state of New York, including the\nappropriation of property for drains, ditches, spoil banks, gravel pits,\nstone quarries, storehouses and repair shops; also for the removal of\nobstructions, improvement of sight distance; also for appropriation of\nproperty for the reconstruction of existing highway-railroad separation\nstructures upon incorporation into an interstate highway of an existing\nhighway or portion thereof of which they form a part, and for the\nseparation of interstate highway-railroad grades on newly laid-out\ninterstate highways; and for other purposes to improve safety conditions\non the interstate highway routes. The term "property" as used in this\nsection is defined to include lands, waters, rights in lands or waters,\nstructures, franchises and interests in land, including lands under\nwater and riparian rights, and any and all other things and rights\nusually included within the said term and includes also any and all\ninterests in such property less than full title, such as easements\npermanent or temporary, rights-of-way, uses, leases, licenses and all\nother incorporeal hereditaments and every estate, interest or right\nlegal or equitable.\n  4. If moneys of the federal government are or may reasonably be\nexpected to be available therefor, under federal aid highway acts, the\ncommissioner of transportation is authorized to use such moneys or so\nmuch thereof as he may determine to accept, together with other\navailable moneys, for (a) the construction and reconstruction of\ninterstate highways designated and described in section three hundred\nforty-a of this chapter, (b) the construction, reconstruction,\nalteration or repair, pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred\nthirty of this chapter, of bridges and culverts on the interstate\nhighway system, and (c) the preparation of preliminary surveys, plans,\nspecifications and estimates of costs in connection with any of the\nforegoing, and (d) the acquisition of rights of way necessary for such\ninterstate highways. The commissioner of transportation may perform such\nwork with respect to any interstate project which he may, in his\ndiscretion, select. The proportion of the total cost of work performed\non any interstate project, in addition to such elements thereof as are\nnot subject to federal aid, which shall be borne by the state of New\nYork shall be the difference between the funds contributed for such work\nby the federal government and the actual cost thereof. No city shall be\nrequired to participate in the costs of an interstate highway project,\nwhether or not the alignment coincides with the alignment of a\npreviously approved arterial route, except for those costs which are\nincurred under any special cooperative agreement between a city and the\nstate.\n  5. a. Any property in the city of New York which is deemed by the\ncommissioner of transportation to be necessary for the construction,\nreconstruction and maintenance of interstate highways shall be acquired\nand may be disposed of by him pursuant to applicable provisions of\nsection thirty of this chapter.\n  b. In any case in which property is to be acquired or disposed of\npursuant to the provisions of this subdivision and in any case where\nproperty is created by landfill adjoining such property, the\ncommissioner of transportation shall, prior to any proposed acquisition,\ndisposition or new or different utilization, development or improvement\nthereof, notify the city planning commission and the community board in\neach community district in which the property is located of such\nproposal. Such notice shall be given so as to afford the city planning\ncommission and the community board reasonable opportunity to: (1) notify\nthe public of the proposal; (2) conduct a public hearing thereon; and\n(3) prepare and submit any written recommendations thereon to the\ncommissioner of transportation not later than sixty days after notice of\nthe contents of the proposal.\n  Within a reasonable time after receipt of any recommendations of the\ncity planning commission or community board or the expiration of the\ntime within which any such recommendation could have been made, the\ncommissioner shall notify the commission and respective board of the\ncontents of his resulting proposal.  If any of the items contained in\nthe resulting proposal were not available for consideration by the\ncommission or board within the time provided for the making of\nrecommendations thereon the resulting proposal shall constitute a\ndifferent proposal and as such shall be subject to the foregoing\nprovisions.\n  The provisions of this paragraph b shall only be applicable to a\nproposal by the commissioner of transportation which if proposed by a\ncity agency or instrumentality would be subject to the provisions of\nsection one hundred ninety-seven-c of the New York city charter.\nProvided, however, that the provisions of this paragraph b shall not be\napplicable to any portion of such property acquired, disposed of, or\ncreated by landfill which is to be utilized exclusively as an interstate\nhighway so long as such utilization will not detrimentally affect the\nutilization, development or improvement of remaining portions of such\nproperty.\n  c. Upon the completion of construction by the state of a section or\nsections of interstate highways in the city of New York, the\ncommissioner of transportation may by official order transfer\njurisdiction for maintenance of interstate highways or completed\nportions thereof to the appropriate agency of the city of New York.\n  5-a. The commissioner of transportation and the city of New York,\nacting through the mayor or other administrative head thereof, pursuant\nto a resolution of the governing body of such city, are authorized to\nenter into a written agreement for the maintenance and repair, under the\nsupervision and subject to the approval of the commissioner of\ntransportation, of any state interstate highway or portion thereof,\nexclusive of service roads and pavement on intersecting street bridges,\nwhich is within the boundaries of such city and which is now or which\nshall hereafter be designated in section three hundred forty-a of this\nchapter and which has been constructed or which shall have been\nconstructed as authorized by section three hundred forty-a of this\nchapter. Such agreement may provide that the state shall pay annually to\nsuch city a sum to be computed at the rate of (a) not more than\neighty-five cents per square yard of the pavement area that is included\nin the state highway system according to the provisions of this section,\nand (b) an additional ten cents per square yard of such pavement area\nwhere such pavement area is located on any elevated bridge.\n  The maintenance and repair, as provided in this section, shall be done\neither by the forces of such city and with its equipment, or by its\ncontractor, or by a combination of these two methods.\n  Such agreement for maintenance and repair as authorized by this\nsection, shall include the procedure and method for regulation of street\nopenings, and appropriate provisions for the care, protection and\npatching of the pavement or pavements, and curbs, the care and\nprotection of drainage facilities and structures, the maintenance of\nadjacent roadside and landscaped areas to include the care of trees,\nshrubs and groundcovers and the cutting of grass at specified locations\nand to the extent as shall be deemed by such commissioner of\ntransportation to be for the best interest of the public, control of\nsnow and ice on any such state interstate highway or portion thereof\nincluded in such agreement, the performance of repairs and alterations,\nand the operation and care of traffic lights, directional guides and\ncontrols, and parking controls.  Such maintenance and repair, whether\ndone by the city pursuant to an agreement therefor as authorized by this\nsection, or by the state because of the absence of such agreement, as\nthe case may be, shall not include (a) services of lighting, cleaning,\nsweeping and sprinkling of any such state interstate highway or portion\nthereof, all of which services are deemed to be the normal maintenance\nof streets by the city, or (b) any work on or in connection with\nsubsurface installations and structures that are owned and operated by\nthe city, including sanitary sewers, gas mains, water lines and conduits\nand appurtenances thereto.\n  6. All the provisions of this chapter relating to state highways and\nstate arterial highways and not inconsistent with the provisions of this\nsection or with the provisions of the federal-aid highway act of\nnineteen hundred fifty-six, shall apply to the construction or\nimprovement and the control of maintenance of interstate highways in the\nsame manner as though they were designated as state highways or arterial\nhighways.\n