1. The department may designate, establish, plan, improve, construct, maintain, operate, and regulate turnpike facilities as a part of the state highway system or any federal aid system whenever the department determines the traffic conditions, present or future, justify the facilities, except that the department may not designate as a turnpike facility any highway, road, bridge, or other transportation facility funded in whole or in part by a local option sales and use tax as provided in Chapter 37 of Title 4. The department may utilize funds available for the maintenance of the state highway system for the maintenance of any turnpike facility financed pursuant to this article.

2. In every highway construction project, except federal and state secondary projects, rehabilitation and widening of federal and state primary and secondary road and bridge projects and highway safety projects, the Department shall consider making all or part of the highway construction a turnpike facility and financing it by the use of turnpike bonds. It shall make an entry in the construction project file indicating whether or not it determines making all or part of the project a turnpike facility. If the Department determines it is feasible to make all or part of the construction project a turnpike facility, it may engage in the preliminary estimates and studies incident to the determination of the feasibility or practicability of constructing any toll road as it from time to time considers necessary and the cost of the preliminary estimates and studies must be paid from the general highway fund and must be reimbursed from funds provided under this authority only if the studies and estimates lead to the construction of a toll road.

3. The Department may acquire such lands and property including rights of access as may be needed for turnpike facilities by gift, devise, purchase, or condemnation by easement or in fee simple in the same manner as now or hereafter authorized by law for acquiring property or property rights in connection with other state highways.

4. In designating, establishing, planning, abandoning, improving, constructing, maintaining and regulating turnpike facilities the Department may exercise such authorizations as are granted to the Department by the provisions of other statute law applicable to the state highway system, except as they may be inconsistent with the provisions included herein.

5. The Department may contract with any person, partnership, association or corporation desiring the use of any part of the turnpike facility, including the right-of-way adjoining the paved portion, for placing thereon telephone, telegraph, electric light or power lines, gas stations, garages, stores, hotels and restaurants or for any other purpose, except tracks for railroad or railway use and to fix the terms, conditions, rents and rates of charges for such use provided that a sufficient number of the aforementioned facilities shall be authorized to be established in each service area along any such turnpike project to permit reasonable competition by private business in the public interest. Revenues from these contracts would be included in turnpike facility revenues.

HISTORY: 1962 Code Section 33-220.3; 1972 (57) 3013; 1980 Act No. 449; 1985 Act No. 201, Part II, Section 84B; 1995 Act No. 52, Section 3.