§ 346 — Distinctive requirements of state thruways

§ 346. Distinctive requirements of state thruways. Highways\nconstructed, improved or reconstructed, and maintained as prescribed in\nthis article, shall be designated "state thruways" and bridges thereon\nshall be deemed a part thereof. Each state thruway, except the Niagara\nthruway and the New England thruway, shall be constructed, improved or\nreconstructed on a right of way of such width as the commissioner of\ntransportation may determine, provided, however, that such width shall\nbe not less than two hundred feet, except in any location where, in the\njudgment of the commissioner of transportation, such minimum width shall\nbe deemed to be impracticable. The commissioner of transportation shall\nset monuments on the boundaries thereof, and he may cause fences to be\nerected along or adjacent to such boundaries and he is authorized to\ninstall suitable lighting, directional and protective facilities,\ndevices, and appurtenances, if he deems it necessary in the interest of\npublic safety.\n Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law or\nof any inconsistent provision of this chapter, the maintenance of state\nthruways shall include the control of snow and ice. Such maintenance\nshall be done by the method or methods provided in this chapter for the\nmaintenance of improved state highways in towns and incorporated\nvillages. Whenever funds are provided therefor, the commissioner of\ntransportation shall have power to acquire for the state, by purchase or\nby appropriation through the procedure specified in section thirty of\nthis chapter property for the purpose of providing, erecting and\nmaintaining thereon storehouses and repair shops for the storing of\nsupplies and material and for the storing, repairing and maintaining of\nequipment, machinery, tools and implements; and of constructing and\nmaintaining such storehouses and repair shops.\n Pursuant to any statutes in such cases made and provided, the\nsuperintendent of state police shall exercise jurisdiction and control\nover the user and the vehicular traffic upon state thruways in\naccordance with generally established as well as special traffic\nregulations, which shall be invoked immediately upon the opening to the\npublic of any state thruway or section thereof by the issuance of an\nofficial order for such opening by the commissioner of transportation\nand the delivery of a certified copy thereof by him to the\nsuperintendent of state police.\n The commissioner of transportation shall have power to acquire by\nappropriation by the method contained in this article, property for the\npurpose of providing, and also to construct or reconstruct thereon\nsuitable housing and other facilities and appurtenances for members of\nthe division of the state police who shall be engaged in exercising such\njurisdiction and control. Upon approval by the director of the budget,\nthe cost of such property and of such construction or reconstruction\nshall be paid from funds available for construction, reconstruction or\nimprovement of state highways and thruways as part of the cost thereof.\n The commissioner of transportation is authorized to classify any part\nof a state thruway as a controlled access highway pursuant to this\nchapter, when the construction thereof is done on a location where no\npublic highway theretofore existed. Highway and railroad grade crossings\nshall be eliminated generally by structures to be determined by the\ncommissioner of transportation, who is hereby given authority to combine\nor relocate intersecting highways, streets, or roads to adjust traffic\nto such grade separation structures, except that the grade crossing\nelimination structures involved in public service commission cases\nnumber fifty-four hundred seventy-two and nine thousand fifty-eight\nshall remain under the jurisdiction of such commission or its successor.\nThe entire cost of such structure as so determined by the commissioner\nof transportation shall be included in the cost of the thruway.\nTelephone and telegraph wires, power transmission and gas, oil and water\nlines, conduits, cables of every kind and nature, that cross any thruway\nmay, in the discretion of the commissioner of transportation, be\nrelocated in suitable facilities to be installed under or over and\nacross any such thruway. The expense of such relocation and of\ninstalling such facilities shall be deemed to be part of the cost of the\nthruway. The work of such relocation may be done by the owner of such\nwires, lines, conduits and cables, and the commissioner of\ntransportation is hereby empowered to enter into an agreement with such\nowner for the performance of all or any part of the work of such\nrelocation at the expense of the state. Access from one traffic\ndirection to the other shall be provided only at such points and in such\nmanner as the commissioner of transportation shall determine. Access or\nbranch connections from any thruway or section thereof to any highway\nthat is authorized by this chapter, shall, in the discretion of the\ncommissioner of transportation, be included in the plans,\nspecifications, and estimates and shall be constructed according to such\ndesign and type as the commissioner of transportation shall deem to be\nsuitable for the purposes thereof notwithstanding the distinctive\nrequirements of this section. Each state thruway shall provide for not\nless than two lanes of traffic in each direction. Opposing traffic on\nevery completed state thruway shall be separated by a mall generally or,\nthe commissioner of transportation may separate such opposing traffic by\nsuch other alignment of the respective lanes of traffic which, in the\njudgment of the commissioner of transportation is practicable because of\ntopographic conditions and is beneficial to the public interest. Rights\nof way for state thruways shall be acquired by the state as provided in\nsection three hundred forty-seven of this chapter. Any state highway or\nportion thereof may be utilized and become a part of any state thruway\nwhen authorized by the commissioner of transportation, provided such\nhighway or portion thereof either meets the prescribed requirements of a\nstate thruway or is appropriately altered so as to come within such\nrequirements before its incorporation into the thruway. Similarly, any\nportion of a state thruway may be constructed in whole or in part and\nutilized as a part of the state highway system pending the completion of\nthe thruway when so determined by the commissioner of transportation and\nfunds are provided for such construction.\n