93. Repair of bridges and subways at crossings. When a highway crosses a railroad by an overhead bridge, the framework of the bridge and its abutments shall be maintained and kept in repair by the railroad corporation, and the roadway thereover and the approaches thereto shall be maintained and kept in repair by the municipality having jurisdiction over and in which the same are situated unless such municipality shall be a village of less than twelve hundred inhabitants, in which case the town board of the town in which such village, roadway and approaches are situated may, by resolution, vote to maintain and repair the same at the expense of such town, notwithstanding any provision of law limiting or providing the amount which such town board may levy and collect for such purposes without the vote of a town meeting, but the property within such village shall be subject to the levy and collection of the tax imposed for such maintenance and repair; except that in the case of an overhead bridge constructed prior to the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, the roadway over and the approaches to which the railroad corporation was under obligation to maintain and repair, such obligation shall continue, provided the railroad corporation shall have at least ten days' notice of any defect in the roadway thereover and the approaches thereto, which notice must be given in writing by the town superintendent of highways or other duly constituted authority, and the railroad corporation shall not be liable by reason of any such defect unless it shall have failed to make repairs within ten days after the service of such notice upon it. When a highway passes under a railroad, the bridge and its abutments shall be maintained and kept in repair by the railroad corporation, and the subway and its approaches shall be maintained and kept in repair by the municipality having jurisdiction over and in which the same are situated, unless such municipality shall be a village of less than twelve hundred inhabitants, in which case the town board of the town in which such village, subway and approaches are situated, may, by resolution, vote to maintain and repair the same at the expense of such town, notwithstanding any provision of law limiting or providing the amount which such town board may levy and collect for such purposes without the vote of a town meeting, but the property within such village shall be subject to the levy and collection of the tax imposed for such maintenance and repair. Where the roadway over a railroad, or the subway underneath the same, or the approaches thereto have been improved by the state as a part of a state or county highway, such roadway or subway, or approaches only, as have been so improved shall thereafter be maintained and kept in repair by the commissioner of transportation in the manner provided in the highway law for the maintenance and repair of state and county highways.
When the roadway over or subway under a railroad and the approaches thereto, for the maintenance of which a town or village is liable, shall have been taken over for improvement by a county as a part of a county road, such roadway or subway or approaches, for so long as the county shall remain liable for the maintenance of such county road, shall be maintained and kept in repair by the county superintendent of such county as a part of such county road in the manner provided in the highway law for the maintenance and repair of county roads, and out of any funds provided for that purpose, but to the extent only to which the town or village was liable under the provisions of the railroad law.
For the purposes of this section, railroad and railroad corporation shall include the national railroad passenger corporation created pursuant to subchapter II of chapter fourteen, forty-five United States code (Amtrak) and the consolidated rail corporation created pursuant to subchapter III of chapter sixteen, forty-five United States code (Conrail).
Last modified: February 3, 2019