Washington Administrative Code › Title 468 - Transportation, Department of (See Title 88) › Chapter 468-30 - Highway property › Section 468-30-075 - Procedure for transfer of abandoned state highways to cities and towns

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
A public highway which is or has been a part of the route of a
				state highway and is no longer necessary as such may be certified to the city
				or town in which it is located in the following manner:
The department of transportation shall notify the affected
				legislative body and the city or town engineer of any certifications
				anticipated for the first half of July of the ensuing calendar year not later
				than August 1 of the previous year, so that the city or town may provide in its
				budget for the maintenance and/or reconstruction of roads which are transferred
				to it by the department of transportation in accordance with
				RCW
				 36.75.090 and
				47.24.010.
(1) The department of transportation shall
			 make such certifications between the first and fifteenth of July each year. A
			 reasonable time prior to the certification of a highway, the appropriate
			 department of transportation region shall arrange for a joint maintenance
			 inspection by representatives of the department of transportation and the city
			 or town.
(2) Any and all routine
			 maintenance deficiencies which are noted at the time of this inspection shall
			 be corrected by the department of transportation region maintenance forces or
			 by contract.
(3) Upon completion of
			 any maintenance work deemed necessary, the department of transportation shall
			 by letter inform the city or town engineer to the effect that all maintenance
			 deficiencies noted during the inspection have been corrected.
(4) The city or town engineer shall by letter
			 subsequently inform the department of transportation that the road or highway
			 to be transferred is either (a) in a condition acceptable to the city or town
			 or (b) in a condition not acceptable to the city or town in which case the
			 unacceptable conditions shall be enumerated in detail.
(5) In the event that the department of
			 transportation feels that additional maintenance work is required, it shall
			 direct such work to be done and again follow the procedure outlined in
			 subsection (3) of this section; and the city or town engineer shall then follow
			 the procedure outlined in subsection (4) of this section.
(6) In the event that it becomes impossible
			 for the department of transportation and the city or town to reach agreement, a
			 full report of the initial inspection and the apparent points of disagreement
			 shall be transmitted to the highways and local programs engineer, who will then
			 consult with the department of transportation maintenance engineer and the city
			 or town engineer and provide the secretary of transportation with all
			 significant information and with their recommendations.
(7) The secretary of transportation will take
			 final action on the transfer of the road and the city or town shall be provided
			 with a copy of the decision two weeks before the certification is
			 made.
(8) After the certification
			 has been made, the state will provide the city or town with all available maps,
			 conveyances, permits, franchises and other documents which may relate to that
			 portion of highway transferred.
Maintenance is described as a program to preserve and repair a
				system of roadways together with its elements to ensure its designed or
				established structural life and operational expectancy. This includes traffic
				control devices and other safety control measures deemed necessary.
In the alternative, the department with any city or town may
				enter into an agreement that modifies the above highway certification process
				so long as the agreement complies with the provisions of
				RCW
				 36.75.090.
Statutory Authority:
				  RCW
				  36.75.090. 09-09-068, § 468-30-075,
				  filed 4/14/09, effective 5/15/09. Statutory Authority: Chapter 34.04 RCW.
				  79-09-044 (Order 35), § 468-30-075, filed
				  8/20/79.