Law

Title 24 Highways

Wyoming · 24 · statute

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Contents: 166 provisions

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166 provisions

24-2-103. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 139, § 2.

Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 139, § 2.

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24-2-104. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 139, § 2.

Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 139, § 2.

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24-2-105. Appointment of director; qualifications; salary and expenses; powers and duties.

(a) The commission shall submit a minimum of three (3) names of qualified candidates to the governor who shall appoint a director of the department of transportation. The director shall receive an annual salary as provided by law, payable in equal monthly installments. He shall be allowed his actual and necessary traveling and other expenses incurred in the discharge of his official duties, and shall give his entire time to the duties of his office. With the approval of the commission, the director shall have complete charge of laying out and establishing highways upon which any portion of the state highway fund is to be expended, including expenditures for roads now in existence or in the future to be constructed, which are part of the state highway system which are located within or partially within the national forests' boundaries, and shall purchase all materials, supplies and equipment, including road-building machinery, materials, supplies and equipment, and shall employ such engineers, superintendents and employees with salaries as provided by law, as necessary for the proper performance of the duties of the department and the construction work undertaken by it. The director, with the approval of the commission, may promulgate and adopt rules and regulations as provided by the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, necessary for the proper performance of the duties and functions of the department. (b) Notwithstanding 1991 Wyoming Session Laws, Chapter 241, Section 1(a)(iv), the director of the department of transportation is authorized to regulate and control the expenditure of any administrative funds not otherwise provided by law and not specifically regulated and controlled by the transportation commission.

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24-2-106. Appointment of chief engineer; duties of director and engineer.

(a) With the approval of the commission, the director of the department of transportation shall appoint a qualified chief engineer who shall: (i) Compile all available information relative to the public roads and bridges within the state; (ii) Prepare standard plans and specifications for the construction of roads, culverts and bridges, and compile data relative to road and bridge materials and their values; (iii) Furnish standard plans, specifications and data to any board of county commissioners or city or town governing body upon request, and advise with a county, city or town with respect to highway and bridge construction and improvements not within the jurisdiction of the department when requested; (iv) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 73, § 2. (v) Be a licensed professional civil engineer, knowledgeable and experienced in highway and bridge construction and maintenance. (b) Repealed by Laws 2018, ch. 73, § 2.

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24-2-107. Required reports.

The director of the department of transportation shall make an annual report to the commission of the transactions of the department, and on or before December first of each even-numbered year, the commission shall, as required by W.S. 9-2-1014, report to the governor.

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24-2-108. Road and bridge construction; professional services procurement.

(a) All road and bridge construction work, any part of the cost of which is paid from the state highway fund, shall be performed in accordance with the plans and specifications prepared by the director of the department of transportation or the chief engineer and approved by the commission, and shall be performed by or under contracts awarded by the commission. The director with the assistance of the chief engineer shall have complete charge, including expenditures for roads now in existence, or in the future to be constructed, which are part of state highway systems which are located within or partially within the national forests' boundaries. Except as specified under subsection (c) of this section, all improvements costing more than two hundred seventy-five thousand dollars ($275,000.00) shall be constructed under contracts awarded after public notice to the lowest responsible bidder determined qualified by the transportation commission of Wyoming which is given the power to determine the qualifications and responsibilities of bidders. The commission may reject any or all bids and readvertise for bids. Improvements costing sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) or less may be constructed by the commission upon force account, with its own forces or under contract, as the commission shall determine. A state highway construction job to be completed within any calendar year period and to cost more than sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) shall not be constructed by department of transportation forces in sections or parcels so as to come within the sixty thousand dollars ($60,000.00) limitation. Contracts may be entered into with railroad companies for the construction of grade separation structures at actual cost under terms and conditions approved by the commission. Whenever an emergency arises requiring immediate expenditure of funds for the repair or rebuilding of bridges, approaches to bridges and any roadway, when the bridges, approaches to bridges or roadway are required to be rebuilt immediately and in such short time that in the judgment of the commission the people would be seriously inconvenienced in waiting the regular period for advertising for bids, the commission may enter into contract for any building or rebuilding of bridges, approaches or roadway without advertising for the letting of any contract, provided the amount of the contract shall not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000.00) and provided the commission requests proposals from at least two (2) contractors capable of performing the emergency construction or repair, except as specified under subsection (c) of this section. The commission shall adopt general rules and regulations for the publication of notice to bidders, the awarding of contracts, and for determining the qualifications and responsibilities of bidders. (b) The commission shall procure the professional services of architects, engineers and surveyors in accordance with W.S. 9-23-105(f) through (h) and 9-23-106(g), except as specified under subsection (c) of this section. (c) As authorized by W.S. 16-6-702(c) and notwithstanding W.S. 16-6-706 the commission may use alternate design and construction delivery methods as defined in W.S. 16-6-701. Subsections (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to any road and bridge construction work any part of the cost of which work is paid from the state highway fund and that is using an alternate design and construction delivery method as defined in W.S. 16-6-701.

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24-2-109. Designation of state highways; vesting of county

interest in state; commission authorized to acquire severed portions of land; land to be sold. (a) The transportation commission shall designate public highways to be known as state highways, which may coincide in whole or in part with previously established county roads. When the state highway is defined and designated by resolution entered in the records of the commission, all title and interest of the respective counties, in the road and right-of-way designated, shall pass to and vest in the transportation commission of Wyoming. (b) Pursuant to W.S. 24-2-102: (i) Any rights-of-way for state highways not acquired from the respective counties may be acquired; (ii) The commission shall have the authority to acquire by purchase or gift, the parcel or parcels of property that may be severed or damaged as a result of the acquisition of the highway right-of-way; provided, that the commission shall not acquire any such parcel or parcels of land by purchase or gift until full settlement has been made for the damages to the landowner as otherwise provided by law; (iii) Any parcel of land acquired pursuant to paragraph (b)(ii) of this section and not otherwise used for highway purposes or traded for land used for highway purposes shall be offered for sale within two (2) years from the date of the completion of the project for which it was acquired. After written notice to the state building commission, the sale or disposition of this land shall be in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the transportation commission.

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24-2-110. Cooperation with counties in construction and maintenance of county roads; allocation of costs.

(a) The board of county commissioners of each county shall establish a separate road construction and maintenance fund solely for the construction and maintenance of county roads, bridges and culverts. Work using funds from the road construction and maintenance fund of a county shall be performed under contract awarded after competitive bidding if the estimated cost of the work exceeds seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000.00). All work shall be performed under the immediate control and supervision of the board of county commissioners or its authorized representative and in accordance with county road standards as established by the Wyoming county road standards committee. The road construction and maintenance fund program is a supplement to federal aid, primary and secondary road programs in each county. The term "construction and maintenance" as used in this section means construction, reconstruction, surveys, mapping, right-of-way costs, bridges, culverts, general road maintenance and fencing. The county shall use existing grades, bridges and other physical items or facilities in order to minimize or avoid more costly relocation. (b) All expenses of maintaining the road after its construction is completed shall be paid by the county. (c) The gasoline license tax revenues distributed by the department of transportation under W.S. 39-17-111(d)(ii) shall be sent to the county treasurers of the various counties and placed in a separate fund in each county earning its own interest and be expended by the board of county commissioners solely for the road construction and maintenance fund program and as otherwise provided in this subsection. This money shall be allocated as follows: (i) To the highway fund, an amount equal to the counties' contribution for the cost of the university's technology transfer program under W.S. 21-17-115(a)(ii) or thirty-one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($31,250.00), whichever is less; (ii) The remainder to the counties and the share allocated to each county shall be based fifty percent (50%) upon the percentage ratio which the rural population including the population within the cities and towns with less than one thousand four hundred (1,400) of each county bears to the total rural population of the state and fifty percent (50%) based upon the percentage ratio which the area of each county bears to the area of the state. Any interest earned on the investment of monies in the fund created by this subsection shall be retained by each county and shall be used for project costs as authorized by this section. (d) Repealed by Laws 2008, Ch. 24, § 2. (e) Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 170, § 2. (f) There is created a Wyoming county road standards committee appointed by the governor consisting of: (i) Three (3) members nominated by an association representing Wyoming county commissioners, one (1) of whom shall be a registered professional engineer; (ii) Two (2) members nominated by an association representing Wyoming consulting engineers and surveyors; (iii) One (1) member nominated by an association representing Wyoming highway construction contractors; and (iv) One (1) member nominated by an association representing Wyoming county engineers and road superintendents. (g) It shall be the responsibility of the Wyoming county roads standards committee to furnish standards for the construction and maintenance of county roads to any board of county commissioners upon request, and to advise boards of county commissioners with respect to highway construction, maintenance and improvements. The committee shall meet as necessary, but at least annually. (h) Whenever an emergency arises requiring construction or maintenance work using funds from the road construction and maintenance fund of a county, the board of county commissioners may enter into contract for the work without advertising for the letting of the contract. An emergency is an occasion requiring construction or maintenance work, on short notice, because the road has become unsafe or impassable due to events which are beyond the control of the county. (j) Of all funds credited to a county road construction and maintenance fund established pursuant to this section, a county may designate per year not more than one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00) of its unobligated share of the prior fiscal year's county gasoline license tax allocation toward purchase or lease of motor graders.

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24-2-111. Cooperation with cities in construction of

streets connecting state highways and construction of storm sewers along streets designated as state highways. (a) The transportation commission may cooperate with incorporated cities and towns in the construction of public streets and highways, including bridges and culverts, but excepting bypass routes, if the streets or highways constitute direct connections between sections of established state highways. All cooperative work shall be performed under the immediate control and supervision of the director of the department of transportation in accordance with plans and specifications prepared under the supervision of the director or the chief engineer, but no contract shall be let nor work commenced until sixty (60) days after the plans for the work have been submitted and approved by the legislative body of the incorporated city or town. The failure of the legislative body of the incorporated city or town to take official action approving or disapproving the plans within sixty (60) days shall constitute approval for the purpose of this section. The entire cost of construction of the streets and highways and the maintenance, including streets and highways currently in existence, shall be paid by the transportation commission with the following exceptions: (i) The cost of construction of storm sewers along streets designated as state highways shall be paid by the transportation commission. If the city decides to connect other storm sewers with the one constructed by the commission, the commission shall only pay for the cost of a storm sewer needed to provide drainage for the street. If additional costs are incurred, the cities shall pay these additional costs. The city or town, if the population is over fifteen hundred (1,500) or more, shall pay all costs of, and be responsible for, the cleaning and maintenance of the storm sewers; (ii) The city or town, if it has a population of fifteen hundred (1,500) or more, shall pay all costs of, and be responsible for, the cleaning, sweeping and washing of, and snow removal from the streets and highways. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the transportation commission may contribute financial assistance to any city or town with a population between fifteen hundred (1,500) and five thousand (5,000) that is performing its duties under this paragraph in a total amount not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) per capita annually to the city or town; (iii) The entire cost to the state of the construction, maintenance and acquisition of the necessary right-of-way for any highway route, which constitutes a bypass of any incorporated city or town, and which is constructed for the purpose of satisfying the highway construction standards established by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and approved by the federal highway administration including access control, regardless whether any portion lies within the corporate limits of any city or town, shall be paid by the transportation commission.

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24-2-112. Contracts and agreements with United States government.

The legislature of the state of Wyoming assents to the provisions of the act of congress approved July 11, 1916, entitled "an act to provide that the United States shall aid the states in the construction of rural post roads, and for other purposes," together with all acts and legislation, amendatory or supplementary, or which shall grant or authorize aid for the construction, improvement, maintenance or repair of public roads or highways. The transportation commission is authorized to enter into all contracts and agreements with the United States government relating to the construction and maintenance of roads under the provisions of the act or acts of congress to submit the scheme or program or construction or maintenance as may be required by the federal highway administration and to do all other things necessary fully to carry out the cooperation contemplated and provided for by the act or acts, for the construction or improvement of highways under the act, the good faith of the state is pledged to make available funds sufficient to equal the sums apportioned to the state by or under the United States government during each of the years for which federal funds are appropriated by section 3 of the act and to maintain the roads so constructed with the aid of funds appropriated and to make adequate provisions for carrying out maintenance. Cooperative agreements under the provisions of the act shall be entered into with the federal highway administration only by the commission, but may be for the construction or improvement of either a state highway or a county road. If the road to be improved under such cooperative agreement is a state highway, the state's share of the expense shall be borne entirely by the state; if the highway to be improved or constructed under such cooperative agreement is not a state highway, the state's share of the cost of the work shall be divided between the state and the county upon such basis as the commission shall determine, and before an agreement is entered into with the federal highway administration the county must furnish the right-of-way and shall have entered into an agreement with the commission whereby it shall agree to pay its share of the cost and to pay the cost of all subsequent maintenance, work which shall be performed by and under the supervision of the director of the department of transportation, and the county also shall pay into the state highway fund its share of the estimated cost of the construction.

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24-2-113. Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 139, § 2.

Repealed by Laws 1983, ch. 139, § 2.

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24-2-114. State agency law enforcement communications system; department duties and responsibilities.

(a) The department of transportation shall: (i) Maintain, install, operate and dispatch the state agency law enforcement communications system as defined by W.S. 9-2-1101(b); (ii) Supervise personnel and budget funds necessary for the maintenance, installation, operation and dispatching of the state agency law enforcement communications system; and (iii) Provide technical assistance and advice as requested by the law enforcement communications commission and by the state [law enforcement] radio communications consultant. (b) The budget for maintenance, operation and dispatching of the state agency law enforcement communications system shall be approved by the director of the department of transportation and by the legislature.

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24-2-115. Program for specific service signing by

businesses or attractions; department duties and responsibilities; contracting of duties; fees. (a) As authorized under W.S. 31-5-406(b), the department of transportation shall establish a program for specific service signing by business entities as part of departmental approved motorist service panels erected within rights-of-way along interstate and primary highways. The program shall be designed for information of interest to the traveling public in accordance with 23 U.S.C. 131(f). (b) In establishing the program under this section, the department shall by rule and regulation: (i) Provide for application by business entities for the display of its name or logo upon the specific service signing; (ii) Repealed By Laws 2014, Ch. 99, § 2. (iii) Establish a uniform initial fee and annual permit fee for applicants to cover the costs of constructing, erecting and maintaining specific service signing, including the costs of contracting for any of these services; (iv) Establish minimum standards for specific service signing by business entities in accordance with the current edition of the manual on uniform traffic control devices; (v) Provide for oversight of the program and subject to W.S. 9-2-3204(b), may establish necessary procedures for contracting services for the construction, erection and maintenance of highway specific service signing pursuant to this section; (vi) Provide a fee system that includes an initial application fee, fabrication and installation fee and an annual administration and maintenance fee. At a minimum, the fee structure shall be set so that the department is fully reimbursed for all costs associated with specific service signing. (c) All fees collected by the department under the program shall be deposited into the state highway fund.

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24-2-116. Department of transportation state-funded communications facilities.

(a) Upon application by a telecommunications company, the Wyoming department of transportation may lease excess capacity on any state-funded communication infrastructure operated by the department of transportation to the telecommunications company. All monies received from any lease executed pursuant to this section shall be deposited into and separately accounted for in the department's internal service fund specified by W.S. 9-4-204(t)(ii)(B) and governed by W.S. 9-4-205(e). Monies received and deposited under this section are continuously appropriated to the department and shall only be used to maintain, reinforce and repair the WyoLink network and towers. (b) As used in this section: (i) "Broadband provider" means a telecommunications company as defined by W.S. 37-15-103(a)(xi), a communications company under W.S. 1-26-813(b) or a cable operator as defined by 47 U.S.C. § 522(5); (ii) "Telecommunications company" shall include a broadband provider.

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24-3-101. Resolution by county commissioners; petition of county electors; alteration authority specified.

(a) The board of county commissioners of any county, may, on its own motion by resolution duly adopted, where it deems the public interest so requires, initiate the procedure for the establishment, vacation or alteration of a county highway, as the case may be, by setting forth in such resolution the point of commencement, the course and the point of termination of said road to be established, altered or vacated, as the case may be, and thereafter following out the provisions of article 2, chapter 52, Wyoming Revised Statutes, 1931, not inconsistent therewith. If the motion specifies vacation of a county road, alley or highway located within one and one half (1 ½) miles of the boundary of a city or town, the board shall notify the governing body of the city or town. (b)(i) Any person desiring the establishment, vacation or alteration of a county highway shall file in the office of the county clerk of the proper county, a petition signed by five (5) or more electors of the county residing within twenty-five (25) miles of the road proposed to be established, altered, or vacated, in substance as follows: To the Board of County Commissioners of .... County. The undersigned ask that a county highway, commencing at .... and running thence .... and terminating at .... be established (altered or vacated as the case may be). (ii) With said petition shall be filed a list containing the names and also the known post office address of each person owning or having an interest in any land over which the proposed establishment, vacation or alteration of a county highway is to be made. (c) In altering any county highway under this article or any other road dedicated by recorded plat as a public road, a board of county commissioners may change the designation of any road to a private road. If a board alters any road, it shall reserve the access rights of the area landowners and permit governmental agencies to retain access to that road for performing essential public services. It may also designate a nongovernmental entity to be responsible for the maintenance of any road altered pursuant to this section.

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24-3-102. Requiring deposit by petitioners.

The board of the county commissioners may require, in their discretion, that the petitioners for the establishment, alteration or vacation of a public road, shall deposit with the county clerk, a sufficient sum of money to defray the expenses of laying out, vacating or altering such road, and such expense, when so incurred, shall be paid out of such deposit. If the road is finally established, altered or vacated, the money so deposited shall be returned to the person who deposited the same.

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24-3-103. Viewer; appointment, qualifications and duties generally.

Upon filing of the petition the board of the county commissioners at a regular or special meeting, or the chairman of the board, if in his judgment an emergency exists, shall appoint a suitable and disinterested person, who may be a member of the board of county commissioners, to examine into the expediency of the proposed road, alteration or vacation thereof, and to report immediately.

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24-3-104. Viewer; oath; scope of investigation.

The person so appointed shall be termed a viewer, and he shall be sworn by some person or officer authorized by law to administer oaths, before entering upon his duties, to faithfully and impartially discharge his duties, and he shall file his oath in the office of the county clerk. He shall not be confined to the precise matter of the petition, but may inquire or determine whether that, or any road, in the vicinity of the proposed or altered road, answering the same purpose is required.

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24-3-105. Viewer; factors to be considered.

In forming his judgment the viewer shall take into consideration both the public and private convenience, and also the expense of the proposed road.

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24-3-106. Viewer; report.

The said viewer shall report in writing to the board of the county commissioners, whether or not in his judgment, said proposed road is practicable, and ought or ought not be established, altered or vacated, as the case may be, stating the probable expense of the same, including damages to the property owners along the line thereof, the benefits thereto, and such other matters therein as shall enable the said board to act understandingly in the premises.

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24-3-107. Viewer; compensation.

The board of the county commissioners shall allow the said viewer such reasonable compensation for his services as they shall determine and fix upon.

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24-3-108. Roads established by consent of landowners.

Public roads shall be established without the appointment of a viewer, or without any other proceeding, than the order of the board of county commissioners; provided, that the written consent of all the owners of the land to be used for that purpose, be first filed in the office of the county clerk, and when it is shown to the satisfaction of the said board that the said road is of sufficient importance to be opened and traveled, they shall make an order establishing the same. The board of the county commissioners, when in their judgment such action shall be in the interests of economy or the public good, may purchase or receive donations or rights-of-way for a public road, or any alteration thereof, or any part thereof, from any and all persons along the route thereof, and declare the same opened, whenever the consent of the owners of the land through which said proposed road or alteration shall run, has been obtained, either by the donations of land or when an amicable adjustment of the amount to be paid therefor has been made between such landowners and said board; and all roads or parts of roads or alteration of roads heretofore opened or made, by consent or adjustment of damages, without recourse to other proceedings, are hereby declared to be public roads, the same as if such roads had been legally opened, or said alterations legally made.

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24-3-109. Survey of proposed location for new road; recordation required.

If, upon considering and acting upon the report of the viewer, or otherwise, the board of the county commissioners shall decide to lay out such road, they shall cause the county surveyor to make an accurate survey thereof, if such survey is deemed necessary, and to plat and record the same in the book provided by the county for such purpose; and a copy of said plat and notes of survey shall, without unnecessary delay, be filed in the office of the county clerk.

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24-3-110. Notice of location of road to be published or posted; notice by mail to property owners.

(a) Notice shall be published of the proposed location or alteration of any road by posting on the county's official website in the manner provided in W.S. 18-3-516(f) and by publication for two (2) successive weeks in the designated official newspaper of the county, which notice may be in the following form: To all to whom it may concern: The Board of County Commissioners have decided to locate (or alter, as the case may be) a road commencing at .... in .... County, Wyoming, running thence (here describe in general terms the points and courses thereof), and terminating at .... . All objections thereto or claims for damages by reason thereof must be filed in writing with the county clerk of said county, before noon on the .... day of .... A.D. .... or such road will be established (or altered) without reference to such objections or claims for damages. County Clerk Dated .... A.D. (b) The county commissioners shall cause a copy of the above notice to be mailed by registered mail to all persons owning lands or claiming any interest in any lands over or across which said road is proposed to be located or altered. The publication and posting of such notice shall be a legal and sufficient notice to all persons owning lands or claiming any interest in lands over which the proposed road is to be located or altered.

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24-3-111. Objections and claims for damages; when filed.

If the board of the county commissioners shall determine to establish, lay out or alter any road, they shall appoint a day, not less than thirty (30) days after such determination, on or before which day all objections to the establishment, alteration or vacation of the proposed road, and claims for damages by reason thereof, shall be filed with the county clerk.

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24-3-112. Objections and claims for damages; when barred.

No objections or claims for damages shall be filed or made after the noon of the day fixed for filing the same, and if no objections or claims for damages are filed, on or before noon of the day fixed for filing the same, they shall be disregarded, and not considered, and shall be deemed to have been waived and barred.

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24-3-113. Objections and claims for damages; continuance of hearing upon filing.

If objections to the establishment, altering or vacating of the road, or if any claims for damages shall be filed, the further hearing of the application may be continued by the board until the matter can be properly disposed of.

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24-3-114. Appraisers; number; appointment; qualifications; duties generally; report.

When claims for damages are filed, at the next regular meeting or special meeting of the board of the county commissioners, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable and convenient, the said board shall appoint three (3) suitable and disinterested electors of the county as appraisers, to view the ground, on a day fixed by said board, and they shall report their doings in the matter and file their report in writing with the county clerk within thirty (30) days after the date of their appointment, fixing the amount of the damages sustained by the claimants.

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24-3-115. Appraisers; notification of appointment required; contents.

The county clerk shall cause each of the said appraisers to be notified in writing, of his appointment, stating in said notice, first, the names of all appraisers, second, the names of all claimants for damages, on account of the location or alteration of the said road, with the amount of damages asked by each claimant, third, stating when their report must be filed, and fourth, the law relating to their duty as found in W.S. 24-3-116. The county clerk shall prepare suitable blanks, for such notice, for the oath of the appraisers and for the report, a proper number of which shall be forwarded by him to them.

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24-3-116. Appraisers; specific duties enumerated; compensation.

The said appraisers shall, within ten (10) days after receiving notice of their appointment, meet at some convenient place, on the line of said proposed or altered road, and take and administer to each other, an oath or affirmation to faithfully and impartially discharge their duties. They shall then view the ground, so far as they shall deem it necessary, and fix the amount of damages sustained by each claimant, after allowing for all benefits that may accrue to each claimant, by reason of the location or alteration of the said proposed road. They, or a majority of them, shall as soon as practicable, after performing their said duties, make a report in writing to the county clerk of their doings, stating that they were so sworn or affirmed as aforesaid, before performing their duties and fixing the amount of damages, if any, sustained by each claimant, after allowing and deducting for benefits, and where they have disallowed claims for damages, they shall so state in their report, and they shall immediately transmit their report, when made, to the county clerk. They shall, whenever they can conveniently do so, notify the claimants or their agents, of the place of their meeting and may hear such evidence as they may deem necessary in determining the amount of damages fixed by them. They are hereby authorized to administer oaths to each other and to such witnesses as they may hear. If any one (1) of them shall fail or refuse to perform his duty, the other two (2) appraisers shall serve and shall appoint a suitable and disinterested elector in his place, who shall be within easy access, and he shall be sworn or affirmed in like manner as the other two (2) appraisers, and the facts of such appointment and qualification shall be stated in said report to the county clerk. The said appraisers shall each receive for his compensation such reasonable sum as the board of county commissioners shall allow.

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24-3-117. Neglect of duty by appraiser or viewer.

If any viewer or appraiser shall refuse or neglect to perform any of the duties required by law or shall fail to act after his appointment, without a satisfactory excuse for such refusal or neglect, he shall be fined in any sum not exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00), upon his conviction thereof in any court of competent jurisdiction, and such fine when collected shall be paid into the county treasury for the benefit of the road fund.

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24-3-118. Hearing before county commissioners;

determination and payment of damages; entry on land; abandonment prohibited; records; surveys. (a) At the next meeting of the county commissioners after the report of the appraisers has been filed, or as soon thereafter as may be practicable, the said board may hear testimony and consider petitions for and remonstrances against the establishment or alteration, as the case may be of any road, or may establish or alter any road or may refuse so to do, as in the judgment of the said board, the public good may require, but in case there shall be no claim for damages filed, they shall act as speedily as possible in the matter. Said board may increase or diminish the damages allowed by the appraisers, and may make such establishment or alteration of any road, dependent or conditioned upon the payment, in whole or in part, of the damages awarded or expenses incurred in relation thereto by the petitioners for such road or such alteration of any road. (b) The amount of damages awarded, if any, shall immediately be paid to the person or persons entitled thereto or deposited with the county clerk for delivery to such person or persons, which payment shall be without prejudice to the right of such person or persons to appeal to the district court as provided by law. (c) When the road has been established and the award has been paid by the board of county commissioners or by the department of transportation, to the person or persons entitled, or deposited with the county clerk, the highway authorities and their contractors and employees may take possession and exercise full control of the land within the right-of-way of the road so established. (d) After the county or the department of transportation has taken possession of the right-of-way, there shall be no abandonment of the establishing of the highway, and in the event of an appeal by an owner of real estate affected to the district court from the award finally made by the board of county commissioners, the board shall pay the amount finally determined to be due. (e) A certificate, authorized by the board of county commissioners and signed by its chairman, setting forth the legal description of the property taken shall be recorded in the office of the county clerk, and indexed in like manner and with like effect as if it were a conveyance of the easement or right-of-way from said owners to the county. (f) If, upon considering and acting upon the report of the viewers or otherwise, the board of county commissioners shall decide to lay out or alter any road, they shall cause the county surveyor to make an accurate survey thereof, if such survey is necessary, and to plat the same in books to be provided by the county for such purpose, and the county clerk shall record in the same books opposite or near to such plat so that the same may be easily ascertained to be concerning the platted road, the proceeding of the said board in relation to the location, establishment or alteration of said road, in order to keep in a separate book a record of all the county roads of that county.

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24-3-119. Appeals from decisions of county commissioners; notice; bond required.

Any applicant for damages claimed, or caused by the establishment or alteration of any road, may appeal from the final decision of the board of the county commissioners to the district court of the county, in which the land lies, for the taking of which for a public road, damages are asked; but notice of such appeal must be made to the county clerk, within thirty (30) days after such decision has been made by the said board, or such claim shall be deemed to have been abandoned. No appeal shall be allowed, unless a good and sufficient bond be given by the party appealing, in a sum not less than fifty dollars ($50.00) to cover costs, said bond to be approved by the clerk of the district court.

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24-3-120. Appeals from decisions of county commissioners; duties of county clerk.

The county clerk shall, within ten (10) days after the notice of an appeal as provided for in W.S. 24-3-119 is filed in his office, make out and file in the office of the clerk of the district court, in his county, a transcript of the papers on file in his office, and the proceedings of the board in relation to such damages.

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24-3-121. Appeals from decisions of county commissioners; recovery of damages; court costs.

The amount of damages to which the claimant shall be entitled on such appeal shall be ascertained in the same manner as in a civil action, and the amount so ascertained, if any, shall be entered of record, but no judgment shall be entered therefor. The amount thus ascertained shall be certified by the clerk of the court to the county clerk who shall thereafter proceed as if such amount had been allowed by the board of the county commissioners to the claimant as damages. If the appellant shall fail to recover an amount exceeding fifty dollars ($50.00) above the amount allowed to him by the board of the county commissioners, he shall pay all costs of the appeal.

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24-3-122. Condemned land tax free during use by state.

No taxes covering the real estate taken by the county or the department of transportation for rights-of-way shall be assessed, or charged against the land owner or owners during the time that rights-of-way are being used for the purposes for which they were established.

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24-3-123. Effect of location of new road on route of previous road.

The establishment of a new road on the route of a road already established according to law, shall not vacate any road previously established, unless such vacation shall be ordered by the board of the county commissioners.

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24-3-124. Removal of fences on right-of-way.

Whenever a public road is ordered to be established or altered, according to the provisions of this act, which shall pass through, or on enclosed lands, the road overseer, or other proper officer, shall give the owner, agent or occupant of such lands, notice in writing to remove the fences thereon, and if such owner, agent or occupant shall not move his fence, within thirty (30) days thereafter, the same may be removed by the proper officer, and the road opened and worked; and such owner shall forfeit and pay twenty dollars ($20.00) for each day he shall permit his fence to remain after said thirty (30) days, and shall pay all necessary cost of removal, to be collected by the proper officer, in any court of competent jurisdiction, for the use and benefit of the general county road fund.

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24-3-125. Streets in unincorporated towns or villages declared public roads; working.

All public streets of towns or villages, not incorporated, are a part of the public roads, and all road overseers, or persons having charge of the same, in their respective districts or counties, shall work the same as provided by law or ordered by the board of the county commissioners of the proper county.

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24-3-126. Abandonment of portion of highway upon

reconstruction or relocation of existing highway; relinquishment to county or city in lieu of abandonment. (a) The transportation commission may abandon or relinquish any portion of state highways upon the reconstruction or relocation of any portion of an existing state highway. (b) Prior to abandonment of any portion of a state highway, the transportation commission shall offer the highway to the governing body of any county or city in which the highway is located. Upon being notified of the transportation commission's intent to abandon any portion of a state highway, the governing body of the county or city shall comply with the procedures provided for in paragraph (c)(ii) of this section in order to initiate transfer of the state highway. (c) The abandonment or relinquishment of any portion of state highways shall be conclusively evidenced by the resolution entered in the minute record of the commission. A certified copy of the resolution shall be recorded by the secretary of the transportation commission in the office of the county clerk of any county in which abandoned or relinquished highway right-of-way is located. Abandonment or relinquishment shall not affect the rights of corporations or their successors in interest acquired under the provisions of W.S. 1-26-813 to continue the operation and maintenance of transmission and distribution lines constructed upon the right-of-way and shall not affect the rights of any corporation or successors in interest to continue to maintain any facility lawfully in the highway right-of-way at the time of any abandonment or relinquishment. Corporations shall have the right to go upon these lands for the purposes associated with maintenance or use of their facility. Specific rules regarding relinquishment and abandonment are: (i) Upon the entry of the resolution of abandonment in the minute record of the commission, all title and interest, except as herein provided, to the highway right-of-way shall pass to and vest in the present adjacent landowner according to the portion contributed by adjacent landowner or his predecessor in interest; (ii) Instead of abandonment, the transportation commission may, upon written request, relinquish to any county or city any portion of a state highway within the county or city proposed to be removed from the state highway system. The request shall be in the form of a resolution adopted by the governing body of the county or city, indicating that the portion of the state highway sought by the governing body will be used for a local public purpose enumerated in the resolution and expressing the agreement of the county or city to assume all responsibility with regard thereto. Relinquishment by the transportation commission shall be by entry of the resolution of relinquishment in the minute record of the commission and by quitclaim deed effective upon recordation in the office of the county clerk and recorder of any county in which the real property is located.

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