THEA~ORNEY GENERAL OFTEXAS

Honorable Pat Beene CountyAttorney Andrew5 County Andre;qs,

Texas Dear Sir: $inion No. O-6925 : Registration of trucks which are operated on a road in the process of constructionunder facts given. We are in receipt of your letter of recent date requesting the opinion of this departmenton the above stated matter. We quote from your let-ter as follows: We h:ive several gravel dump trucks operating on a constructionjob, such construction being that of 7 new hicchway. The trucks carry gravel from a pit up on to the sub-grade, cut do not haul on .nyportiiin of a completedand opened iiighway. "Such trucks are resistered for theirweight empty. Is it ;lecessary under the laws of the State of Texas that such trucksbe registered for the weir,ht

which they c.arry loaded? "1s a road that is in the process of being constructeddeemed a public hi~:hway under Article 6675a-1, subsection (I!)?'" In the absence of certain necessary information relative to the hi;,;hway construction job referred to in your letter, 2nd in view of the urgency of your request,we have secured t,hei'ollowing informationfrom the State iiighwayDepartment concernin,? constructionwork now in pro,gress on aHonorable Pat Been,, page 2 0-6925

state designatedhighway inAndrews County: 

### (1)

(2)
(3)

(4)

(5) The State HighwayDepartment is now sponsoring a project inAndrews County for grading, culverts, flexiblebase and asphalt surfacing of a "Ranch tc Market" road, from a ioint of 16.85miles west of Andrews to the New exico state line, a distance of 14.738miles, Said project is a Federal Aid project, designated as F. A. 5. 194-A(1). The right of way of the above mentioned constructionproject is 120 feet in width, and the right ofway of a county road which has been in use for many years is includedwithin the 120' right of way of the above mentioned project. The highway,upon which above mentioned construction is in progress, follows the route of the above mentioned county road for the entire leng~th of the project and connects with a New l"lexico highway at the state line. Said road uponwhich the State HiD;hwayDepartment is now making the aforementibned improvements was designatedas a State Highway by the State Highway Commission on August 22, 1945. (StateHighway CommissionMinute No. 21382). The road has not been closed to public travel and is open to public traffic at this time, even though constructionwork is now in progress. Article 6657a-2,Vernon'sAnnotated Civil Statutes, in part provides:

"Every owner of a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer used or to be used upon the publichiphways of t& State shall apply each year to the State Highway Department through the County Tax Collector of the county in which he resides for the registrationof each suchvehicle owned or controlledby him for the ensuing or cuErent calendaryear or unexpiredportion thereof;

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HonorablePat Baene,plge 3 O-6925

Art. 6675a-6,V. A. C. S., provides; "The annual license fee for the registrationof a commercialmotor vehicle or truck tractor shallbe based upon the grossweight and tire equipment of the vehicle as follows: ,I

. . . "The term 'grossweight' as used in this section shallmean the actualweight of the vehicle fully equippedwith body, and other equipment,as certified by any Official Public Yleigher or any License and Weight Inspectorof the State Hi,ghway Department,plus its net carrying capacity. 'Net carrying capacity' of any vehicle except a bus, as used in this section, shall be the weight of the heaviest net load to be carried on the vehicle being registered;provided said net carrying capacity shall Ian no case be less than the manufacturergs rated carrying capacity.
. .I' Art. 6675a-1, subsection (m),V. A. C. S., provides: I1'Publichighway' shall includeany road, street, way, thoroughfareor bridge in this State not priva~tely owned or controlled for the use of vehicles overwhich the State has le~~islhtive jurisdictionunder its police power." When a road has been used i'or Public travel as a county road for many years, is now designate6AS a State Highway, and even though certain constructionwork is now in progress, said road has not been closed to trafficand is now open to public travel, it is our opinion that said road is a public highway within the plain meaning of Article 6675a-2, subsection (m), supra. If the construction job referred to in vour letter is on the State highwavwest of Hndre~:Js to theNew lviexico line, hereinabove-described, inview of the foregoing, ,it'isour.opinion‘ that saidhighway is-arpublic,hifhway:underthe provisions of Article 6657a-a, subsection (ml,. ~Tt:i~stherefore our,further ,' ol!inion

that when trucks:.operate on any partion of~such.public highway, such trucks should be registered for "grossweight," in accordancewith the provisions of Article 6675a-6, supraeHonorable Pat beene, page 4 O-6925

We trust that the above and foregoing satisfactorily answers your inquiry. Yours very truly, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

BY J. A. Ellis

Assistant JAE:pam APPROVED NOV 10, 1945 Carlos C. Ashley First Assistant Attorney General APPROVED OPINION COMidITTEE BY BWB, CHAIRMAN