Chapter 5 - Industrial Road Program
CHAPTER 5 - INDUSTRIAL ROAD PROGRAM
24-5-101. Program in addition to any existing road program.
Theroad construction program contemplated by this act shall be known as "TheIndustrial Road Program", which shall be in addition to and not as asubstitute for any federal aid, primary, secondary and farm-to-market road programor state-county road construction program or any other road program now inexistence.
24-5-102. Board of county commissioners to incite procedure forindustrial road.
Aboard of the county commissioners of any county may on its motion by resolutionduly adopted where it deems the public interest so requires and a road-buildingemergency prevails incite the procedure for the establishment of an industrialroad. The course and the point of termination of the road shall be determinedby the board of the county commissioners. Before a board of the countycommissioners of a county or counties can initiate the road program herein, itmust have the cash money available for the project as described. Upon theadoption of such resolution by the board of the county commissioners of one (1)or more counties, it shall immediately notify the transportation commission ofWyoming of its intentions to establish a proposed industrial road.
24-5-103. Three viewers to examine industrial road proposal;appointment of viewers.
Three(3) viewers shall be appointed to examine into the expediency of the proposedindustrial road and to make their report immediately. One (1) viewer shall beappointed by the board of the county commissioners at a regular or specialmeeting or the chairman of the board, if in his judgment an emergency exists,shall appoint a suitable and disinterested elector of the county, who may be amember of the board of the county commissioners; one (1) viewer shall beappointed by the member of the transportation commission in whose district theproposed industrial road is located, and the other viewer shall be appointed bythe two (2) previously appointed viewers, which viewer shall not be a residentof the county in which the proposed industrial site is located.
24-5-104. Viewers to be sworn; scope of inquiry.
Thepersons so appointed shall be designated as viewers and they shall be sworn bysome person or officer authorized by law to administer oaths before enteringupon their duties, and they shall file their oaths in the office of the countyclerk. They shall not be confined to the precise matter of the petition but mayinquire or determine whether an industrial road in the vicinity is required.
24-5-105. Viewers to consider certain standards.
Informing their judgment the viewers shall take into consideration both thepublic and private convenience, and also the expense of the proposed road.
24-5-106. Viewers to report to county commissioners.
Thesaid viewers shall report in writing to the board of the county commissioners,whether or not, in their judgment, said proposed road is practicable, and oughtto be established, and state the probable expense of the same including damagesto the property owners along the line thereof, and such other matters as shallenable the board to act understandingly in the premises.
24-5-107. Compensation of viewers.
Theboard of the county commissioners shall allow said viewers such reasonablecompensation for their services as they shall determine.
24-5-108. Department of transportation to survey, plat and recordproposed road.
Ifupon considering and acting upon the report of the viewers the board of thecounty commissioners shall decide to lay out a road, they shall contact thedepartment of transportation which shall provide an accurate survey and platand record the same in the book provided in the county for that purpose; a copyof the plat and notes of the survey shall without unnecessary delay be filed inthe office of the county clerk.
24-5-109. Notice of proposed location of road; form of notice;publication; posting; registered mail.
(a) Notice shall be published of the proposed location of suchroad once weekly for three (3) successive weeks in the official newspaperpublished in said county, if any there be, and if no newspaper be publishedtherein such notice shall be posted in at least three (3) public places alongthe line of such proposed industrial road, which notice shall be in thefollowing form:
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: The Board of theCounty Commissioners have decided to locate a road commencing at .... in ....County, Wyoming, running thence (here describe in general terms the points andcourses thereof), and terminating at ..... All objections thereto or claims fordamages by reason thereof must be filed in writing with the County Clerk ofsaid county, before noon on the .... day of ...., (year), or such road will beestablished without reference to such objections or claims for damages.
Dated .... CountyClerk.............
(b) At the time the initial notices are published, the board ofthe county commissioners shall cause a copy of the above notice to be mailed byregistered mail to all persons owning lands or any persons interested in landsover and across which said road is proposed to be located. The publication andposting of said notice shall be a legal and sufficient notice to all personsowning lands or claiming any interest in lands over which proposed road is tobe located.
24-5-110. Fixing date for filing objections or claims for damages.
Theboard of the county commissioners shall appoint a day not less than twenty (20)days after such publication or posted notice on or before which day allobjections to the establishment of the industrial road and claim for damages byreason thereof shall be filed with the county clerk.
24-5-111. Failure to file objections or claims for damages deemedwaiver.
Noobjections or claims for damages shall be filed or made after the noon of theday fixed for filing the same. If no objections or claim for damages are filed,all such claims shall be deemed to have been waived and are barred.
24-5-112. Hearing continued until matter disposed of when objectionsfiled.
Ifobjections to the establishment of the industrial road or if any claim fordamages is filed, a further hearing may be continued by the board until thematter can be disposed of.
24-5-113. Board to appoint appraisers to fix amount of damages;report.
Whenclaims for damages are filed at the next regular meeting or special meeting ofthe board of the county commissioners, the board shall appoint three (3)disinterested electors of the county as appraisers to view the ground on a dayas fixed by the board and they shall report their findings in the matter andfile the report in writing with the county clerk within ten (10) daysthereafter, fixing the amount of damages sustained by the claimants.
24-5-114. Notification to appraisers of appointment; contents.
Thecounty clerk shall cause each of said appraisers to be notified of hisappointment stating in said notice first, the names of all appraisers; second,the names of all claims for damage on account of the location of the industrialroad with the amount of damages asked by each claimant; third, stating when thereport must be filed. The county clerk shall prepare suitable blanks for suchnotice, for the oath of appraisers, and for the report, a proper number ofwhich shall be forwarded by him to them.
24-5-115. Duties of appraisers; report to county commissioners;compensation.
Thesaid appraisers shall within seven (7) days after receiving notice of theirappointment meet at some convenient place on the line of the proposedindustrial road, take and administer to each other an oath or affirmation tofaithfully and impartially discharge their duties. They shall view the groundso far as they shall deem it necessary and fix the damages sustained by eachclaimant, after allowing for all benefits that may accrue to each claimant. Byreason of the location of the industrial road they, or a majority of theappraisers shall make a report in writing to the board of the countycommissioners within seven (7) days relating that they were sworn and affirmedas aforesaid and fixing the damages sustained by each claimant, if any, afterallowing and deducting for benefits and where they have disallowed claims fordamages they shall so state in their report. The said appraisers shall receivefor their compensation such reasonable sum as the board of the countycommissioners shall allow.
24-5-116. Road established; awards paid; certificate of legaldescription of property to be filed.
Atthe next meeting of the board of the county commissioners after receipt of thereport of the appraisers, or as soon thereafter, as may be practicable, theboard may hear testimony and consider petitions for and remonstrances againstthe establishment of such industrial road. In case there shall be no claim fordamages filed, they shall act as speedily as possible in the matter. The boardmay increase or diminish the damages allowed by the appraisers. The amount ofdamages awarded, if any, shall immediately be paid to the person or personsentitled thereto or deposited with the county clerk for delivery, which paymentshall be without prejudice to the right of such person or persons to appeal tothe district court as provided by law. When the road has been established andthe award paid by the board of the county commissioners to the person orpersons entitled thereto or deposited with the county clerk, the highwayauthorities and the contractors and employees may take possession and exercisefull control of the lands within the right-of-way of the road so established. Acertificate, authorized by the board of the county commissioners and signed byits chairman, setting forth the legal description of the property taken shallbe recorded in the office of the county clerk and indexed in like manner andwith like effect as if it were a conveyance of the easement or right-of-wayfrom said owners to the county.
24-5-117. Construction under supervision of director of department oftransportation; division of construction costs.
Thetransportation commission shall cooperate with the respective counties of thestate in the construction of the industrial road program. All work under theindustrial road program shall be performed under the immediate control andsupervision of the director of the department of transportation or hisauthorized representative and in accordance with plans and specifications preparedby the director or the chief engineer, which work in the county is known as itsindustrial road program and shall be promptly commenced upon request of itsboard of the county commissioners, which request shall contain the pledge ofthe county for contribution as specified. The term "construction" asused in this section shall include construction, reconstruction, surveys,mapping, right-of-way costs, bridges, culverts and fencing, in all of whichwhenever and to the extent possible the department of transportation shall useexisting grades, bridges and other physical items or facilities in order tominimize or avoid more costly construction. Fifty percent (50%) of all expenseshall be paid by the department of transportation, and the other fifty percent(50%) of the construction costs shall be paid by the board of the countycommissioners of the county or counties concerned.
24-5-118. Industrial road program account.
Thetransportation commission shall set aside and appropriate out of funds in theirpossession or under their control, not otherwise appropriated, the sum of fourmillion dollars ($4,000,000.00) at the beginning of each biennium to be placedin an account known as the industrial road program account within the highwayfund. All funds not used during each biennium shall lapse and be returned tothe general account of the highway fund.
24-5-119. Counties to match state funds; maximum amount of countyexpenditures; exception; acquisition of right-of-way.
Any county participating in the industrialroad program shall match money equally with money set aside pursuant to W.S.24-5-118. These funds may be derived from any funds in the respective countybudget now available or any monies which may subsequently be budgeted for thisprogram, provided, however, no county shall expend on this program in excess oftwo million dollars ($2,000,000.00) each and every biennium. This act shall notapply to any project having a total cost of less than fifty thousand dollars($50,000.00) total. The board of the county commissioners of each county shallacquire the right-of-way for any industrial road, the expense of which shall becharged against the industrial road program.
24-5-120. Industrial road to be designated as county road.
Theindustrial road, when completed, shall be designated as a county road and shallbe the county responsibility as to maintenance and repair.
24-5-121. Priority of road projects.
(a) In the event there are more county applications than thetransportation commission has money available, the transportation commissionshall determine which road project shall have priority based on thesequalifications:
(i) Priority of notice from the board of the countycommissioners;
(ii) County money actually available for the project anddeposited with the transportation commission;
(iii) Traffic count;
(iv) Number of people project will service as evidenced byinformation furnished by the county or counties interested in the project;
(v) Tax value of the area served by the industrial road asshown on the assessment rolls of the county or counties involved in the projectfrom information furnished by the county assessor of said county or counties.
24-5-122. Counties may associate on road project.
Two(2) or more counties may associate themselves together in connection with anyindustrial road project.