68-406. Designation of highways in state system; total mileage, exclusions; revision and classification; connecting links and detours; direct routes to certain facilities and institutions; roads in st
68-406
68-406. Designation of highways in state system; total mileage, exclusions;revision and classification; connecting links and detours; direct routesto certain facilities and institutions; roads in state parks; posting speedlimits and establishing facilities on certain streets and roads; temporaryroad closings.(a) The secretary of transportation shall designate, adopt and establishand may lay out, open, relocate, alter, vacate, remove, redesignate andreestablish highways in every county in the state, the total mileage ofwhich shall not exceed 10,000 miles. Thetotal mileage of such highways in each county shall be not less than thesum of the north to south and east to west diameters of the county. Thehighways so designated shall connect the county seatsand principal cities and market centers, and all such highways,including bridges and culverts thereon, shall comprise the state highwaysystem. The secretary of transportation shall make such revisions,classifications or reclassifications in the state highway system as arefound on the basis of engineering and traffic study to be necessary, andsuch revisions, classifications or reclassifications may include, afterdue public hearing, removal from the system of roads which have little orno statewide significance, and the addition of roads which havestatewide importance and will provide relief for traffic congestion onexisting routes on the system. All roads which have beenplaced upon the state highway system shall be a part of the state highwaysystem, but changes may be made in the state highway system when thepublic safety, convenience, economy, classification or reclassificationrequire such change. The total mileage ofthe state highway system shall not be extended except by act of thelegislature. Highways designated under this section shall be statehighways, and all other highways outside of the citylimits of citiesshall be either county roads or township roads as provided for by law.The state highway system thus designated shall be constructed, improved,reconstructed and maintained by the secretary of transportation fromfunds provided by law.
(b) In addition to highways of the state highway system,the secretary of transportation shall designate in those cities on suchsystem certain streets as city connecting links. "City connecting link"means a routing inside thecity limits of a city which: (1) Connects a state highway through acity; (2) connects a state highway to a city connecting link of anotherstate highway; (3) is a state highway which terminates within such city;(4) connects a state highway with a road or highway under thejurisdiction of the Kansas turnpike authority; or (5) begins and endswithin a city's limits and is designated as part of the national system ofinterstate and defense highways.
(c) The secretary of transportation may mark and maintain existingroads as detours, but detour roads shallnot be a part of the state highway system, except that such roads shallbe marked and maintained by the secretary of transportation only untilthat portion of the state highway system for which such road issubstituted is completed and open for travel.
(d) The secretary of transportation may use moneys appropriated from thestate highway fund for the purchase of right-of-way, construction, improvement,reconstruction and maintenance of a highway over the most direct and practicableroutes from state highways to a state lake, a federal lake or reservoirestablished by federal authority, any property managed orcontrolled by the department of wildlife and parks, national monumentsand national historical sites, military reservations, motor carrier inspectionstations, approaches and connections within an urban area, as defined by federalhighway laws, places of major scenic attractions which possess unusualhistorical interest, as defined by subsections (1) and (2) of K.S.A.76-2018, and amendments thereto, on which the state now holds or mayhereafter hold a long-termlease, a state institution, from the city limits of the nearest city toa state institution, a state-owned natural and scientific preserve, asdefined by subsection (b) of K.S.A. 74-6603, and amendments thereto, orsuch road or roads located within the boundaries of a state park and notpresently maintained by a federal agency as shall be designated by thesecretary of transportation. Such highways or roads shall not be a part ofthe state highway system, and the secretary of transportation is notrequired to plan, design or construct such highways or roads in conformitywith the standards applicable to the state highway system.
(e) The secretary of transportation may make reroutings of anyportion of the state highway system if such rerouting is required inwriting by the United States department of transportation of the federalhighway administration before it will permit federal funds to be usedthereon. The secretary of transportation shall have control andregulation for purposes of posting speed limits and establishing accessand egress facilities on any and all portions of streets and roads whichare, or have been, a part of the state highway system, and which havebeen or may be, placed inside of the limits of an incorporated city bythe creation of a new municipality or by the extension of the limits orboundaries of any existing municipality.
(f) Except pursuant to article 21 of chapter 68 of Kansas Statutes Annotated,only the secretary of transportation may authorize temporary closing ofany part of the state highway system by any person for any purpose in theinterest of the state. Every authorization granted under this subsectionshall be granted subject to conditions specified by the secretary to providefor (1) proper detours, signing and markings, (2) timing which will notunreasonably inconvenience the public, and (3) such additional conditionsas are appropriate to avoid unreasonable risk of injury to any person.Such requests shall be made in writing and submitted to the secretary atleast five days prior to the closing date. In emergencies, temporary closingmay be authorized by the secretary by oral communications. The secretarymay waive all or any part of the notice otherwise required by this subsection.
Except as provided in subsection (g), any person failing or neglecting tocomply with the provisions of this subsection, upon conviction, shall be guiltyof a nonperson unclassified misdemeanor.
(g) In cases of sudden emergency, temporary closing of any part of thestate highway system may be authorized by order of a person designated bythe board of county commissioners for an area outside of any city or a persondesignated by the governing body of a city for an area within such city.In such cases of sudden emergency the person authorizing such closing shallinform the secretary of transportation thereof as soon as practicable andobtain the authorization of the secretary for any additional time thereafterfor such closing.
History: L. 1927, ch. 255, § 6; L. 1929, ch. 225, § 3; L.1933, ch. 97, § 1 (Special Session); L. 1935, ch. 245, § 1; L. 1937,ch. 285, § 1; L. 1949, ch. 344, § 1; L. 1953, ch. 300, § 1; L. 1961,ch. 302, § 1; L. 1972, ch. 245, § 1; L. 1975, ch. 350, § 1; L. 1975,ch. 427, § 85; L. 1978, ch. 271, § 3; L. 1981, ch. 263, § 1; L.1984, ch. 251, § 1; L. 1984, ch. 293, § 6; L. 1984, ch. 252, § 1;L. 1988, ch. 269, § 1; L. 1989, ch. 118, § 179;L. 1993, ch. 124, § 1; July 1.