136. Permits for work within the county road right of way. 1. Except in connection with the construction, reconstruction, maintenance or improvement of a county road or operations of a corporation pursuant to the provisions of section twenty-seven of the transportation corporations law or sections twenty-one, eighty-nine, ninety-one, ninety-three, ninety-three-a and ninety-three-b of the railroad law, no person, firm, corporation or municipality shall construct or improve, within the county road right of way an entrance or connection to such road, or construct within the county road right of way any works, structure or obstruction, or any overhead or underground crossing thereof, or lay or maintain therein underground wires or conduits or drainage, sewer or water pipes, except in accordance with the terms and conditions of a work permit issued by the county superintendent or his duly designated agent, notwithstanding any consent or franchise granted by any town superintendent, or by any other municipal authority. Any municipal corporation may enter upon any county road for the purpose of widening the pavement or for any other purpose authorized by this section, but only after securing a permit as provided herein. Notwithstanding the limitations in any general or special law, every municipal corporation shall have and is hereby given authority to deposit with the county superintendent such a sum of money or a security bond as may be required as a condition precedent to the granting of the permit provided in this section.
2. The county superintendent shall establish regulations governing the issuance of highway work permits, including the fees to be charged therefor, a system of deposits of money or bonds guaranteeing the performance of the work and requirements of insurance to protect the interests of the county during performance of the work pursuant to a highway work permit. With respect to driveway entrance permits, the regulations shall take into consideration the prospective character of the development, the traffic which will be generated by the facility within the reasonably foreseeable future, the design and frequency of access to the facility, the effect of the facility upon drainage as related to existing drainage systems, the extent to which such facility may impair the safety and traffic carrying capacity of the existing county road and any proposed improvement thereto within the reasonably foreseeable future, and any standards governing access, nonaccess or limited access which have been established by the county superintendent.
3. Upon completion of the work within the county road right of way, authorized by the work permit, the person, firm, corporation, municipality, and his or its successors in interest, shall be responsible for the maintenance and repair of such work or portion of such work as set forth within the terms and conditions of the work permit.
4. An advertising sign, display or device, or any part thereof, erected in violation of this section shall be removed from the county road right of way by the owner or the party responsible for its erection. The county superintendent shall make a demand by mail, to the last known address of the owner, apparent owner or party responsible for the erection of such advertising sign, display or device, for its removal and, if it is not removed within twenty (20) days from the date of the mailing of such demand, the county superintendent may remove any such advertising sign, display or device, or any part thereof, from the county road right of way.
5. The term "county road right of way" shall, for the purposes of this section, mean the entire width between the boundary line of all property which has been purchased or appropriated by the county for county road purposes, all property over which the county superintendent or his predecessors has assumed jurisdiction for county road purposes, all property over which the county superintendent has assumed jurisdiction during the period of construction, reconstruction or improvement and all property which has become part of the county road system through dedication or use.
6. Any person, firm or corporation violating this section shall be liable to a fine of not less than twenty-five dollars nor more than one thousand dollars for each day of violation, to be recovered by the county superintendent and paid in to the county treasury to the credit of the county road fund created under this article for the construction, reconstruction and maintenance of county roads on the county road system in accordance with the provisions of this article, and may also be removed therefrom as a trespasser by the county superintendent upon petition to the county court of the county or to the supreme court of the state.
Last modified: February 3, 2019