(a) The board of supervisors, with the consent of any city in which the proposed system is located, in whole or in part, may designate a system of expressways within the county. The designation shall be based on a study of the transportation needs of the county, which shall include a financing plan for the expressway system.

(b) The purpose of the county expressway system is to provide a level of service that is greater than that of city streets and county roads, but less than that provided by the state system of freeways. The designated county expressway system shall serve both incorporated and unincorporated areas of a county, as appropriate.

(c) The board of supervisors may enter into an agreement with the city council or other governing body of a city to close any city street at or near its intersection with an expressway or to provide for carrying the street over, under, or to a connection with the expressway, and to perform any work necessary for this purpose. No city street may be closed by the construction of an expressway except pursuant to such an agreement. No city street may be connected with an expressway unless the board of supervisors, by resolution, consents and specifies the terms and conditions of that connection. The board of supervisors may permit or prohibit, or specify the terms and conditions of, a connection as, in its opinion, will best serve the public interest of the county. This subdivision does not apply to any connection constructed prior to January 1, 1989.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, the designated county expressway system may be planned, designed, acquired, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated, maintained, operated, and owned by the county in both incorporated and unincorporated areas.

(e) The board of supervisors may delegate any authority under this section to any local agency which it finds and determines has the capability to plan, design, acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, maintain, operate, and own an expressway.

(f) The boards of supervisors of two or more adjacent counties into which an expressway is proposed to extend may enter into an agreement to plan, design, acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, maintain, operate, or own the expressway. The agreement shall provide for the creation of a governing body with representation from each county.

(g) Any county having an existing expressway system which was designated by the board of supervisors before January 1, 1989, shall be deemed to have met the conditions of this section. Any new expressway project within such a system is subject to this section.

(h) As used in this section, “expressway” means a highway having partial or complete control of access, whether or not divided or with separations of grade at intersections.

(Added by Stats. 1989, Ch. 367, Sec. 4.)