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Texas Transportation Code - Section 257.003. Acquisition Of Roads

Legal Research Home > Texas Lawyer > Transportation Code > Texas Transportation Code - Section 257.003. Acquisition Of Roads

§ 257.003. ACQUISITION OF ROADS.  (a) Subject to 
Subsection (b), a road district established pursuant to Section 52, 
Article III, Texas Constitution, may agree to:
		(1)  reimburse a private person for money spent to 
construct a road or improvement that has been or will be dedicated 
or otherwise transferred to public use;  or
		(2)  purchase a road or improvement constructed by a 
private person.        
	(b)  A road district may agree to make a reimbursement or 
purchase under Subsection (a) only if:
		(1)  the construction was carried out through the award 
of contracts in substantial conformity with the bid procedures 
applicable to a county;
		(2)  the construction was performed in accordance with 
the road standards and rules of the county in which the road or 
improvement is located;  and
		(3)  the road or improvement was not opened for public 
use or accepted by official action of a governmental entity before 
the district agreed to the reimbursement or purchase.
	(c)  A construction contract awarded for the construction of 
a road for which reimbursement is to be paid or that is to be 
purchased under Subsection (a) must be approved by the 
commissioners court of the county in which the road is or will be 
situated.  The amount paid for the reimbursement or purchase:
		(1)  may include all construction costs, including 
engineering, legal, financing, and other expenses incident to the 
construction;  and
		(2)  may be paid with proceeds from the sale of the 
district's bonds or from any other money available to the district.
	(d)  In addition to the procedure provided by Subsection (a), 
a road district may acquire, pay for the construction of, or agree 
to reimburse the costs of construction or acquisition of a road, 
including engineering, legal, financing, and other expenses 
incident to the construction or acquisition, at a price not to 
exceed the replacement cost of the road or road improvements as 
determined by the commissioners court.
	(e)  A road district bond election may state as one of its 
purposes the construction or acquisition of, or reimbursement of 
expenses for construction or acquisition of, roads for an amount 
that may not be more than the cost of construction on the basis of 
competitive bid contracts plus engineering, legal, financing, and 
other expenses incident to the construction, improvement, or 
acquisition.
	(f)  A road district may enter into an agreement to use the 
proceeds of a subsequent bond sale for reimbursing all construction 
costs, engineering and other expenses, and financing costs incident 
to construction or acquisition of a road to a private person who 
constructs or acquires a facility that benefits the road district 
pursuant to the agreement.  The agreement may provide the terms and 
conditions under which the road district will be required to accept 
the dedication or transfer of the road or road improvements to the 
district for the benefit of the public and to pay or reimburse the 
cost of constructing or acquiring the road.  A road district may 
assign all or any portion of its rights or obligations under the 
agreement to any other political subdivision authorized by law to 
own, operate, or maintain the road that is the subject of the 
agreement.
	(g)  In this section, "construction" includes improvement 
and landscaping.   

Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.                    

Last modified: August 10, 2007