308.4 - TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION DUTIES.

        308.4  TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION DUTIES.         1.  The state transportation commission shall make such      investigations, surveys, studies and plans in connection with any      proposed national parkway or parkway development as it shall deem      necessary or desirable to determine if the proposed development is      under the terms of the Act of the United States Congress applicable      to such parkway or any regulations under such Act and is advantageous      to the state.  Such parkway development may be any portion of the      proposed parkway which is proposed to be constructed as a project      under such Act.         2.  The state transportation commission, with the cooperation of      the department of natural resources, shall plan, designate, and      establish the exact routing of the great river road, utilizing the      general guidelines established in Title 23, United States Code.         3.  The director of transportation, with the cooperation of the      department of natural resources, shall:         a.  Acquire all rights in land necessary for reconstruction or      relocation of any portions of the great river road where      reconstruction or relocation is imperative for the safety of the      traveling public, or where the condition or location of existing      segments of the highway is not in keeping with the intent of this      chapter.  Acquisitions of such rights in land shall be by gift,      purchase, exchange, or by instituting and maintaining proceedings for      condemnation.  Gift, purchase, exchange, and condemnation include      acquisition of a scenic easement.  A scenic easement acquired under      this chapter constitutes an easement both at law and in equity, and      all legal and equitable remedies, including prohibitory and mandatory      injunctions, are available to protect and enforce the state's      interest in such scenic easements.  A scenic easement acquired under      this chapter is deemed to be appurtenant to the roadway to which it      is adjacent or from which it is visible.  The duties created by a      scenic easement acquired under this chapter are binding upon and      enforceable against the original owner of the land subject to the      scenic easement and the original owner's heirs, successors, and      assigns in perpetuity, unless the instrument creating the scenic      easement expressly provides for a lesser duration.  A court shall not      declare a scenic easement acquired under this chapter to have been      extinguished or to have become unenforceable by virtue of changed      conditions or frustration of purpose.         b.  Accept and administer state, federal, and any other public      or private funds made available for the acquisition of rights in land      and for the planning and construction or reconstruction of any      segment of the great river road, and state and federal funds for the      maintenance of that part of the great river road constituting the      right-of-way.  
         Section History: Early Form
         [C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 308.4; 81 Acts, ch 14, § 23]      
         Section History: Recent Form
         83 Acts, ch 198, § 17; 85 Acts, ch 108, §1; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §      1929; 86 Acts, ch 1246, § 28; 2008 Acts, ch 1032, §45         Referred to in § 308.7