2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes Article 6 - Ferries, etc., and Toll Bridges.

Article 6.

Ferries, etc., and Toll Bridges.

§ 136‑82.� Department of Transportation to establish and maintain ferries.

The Department of Transportation is vested with authority to provide for the establishment and maintenance of ferries connecting the parts of the State highway system, whenever in its discretion the public good may so require, and to prescribe and collect such tolls therefor as may, in the discretion of the Department of Transportation, be expedient.

To accomplish the purpose of this section said Department of Transportation is authorized to acquire, own, lease, charter or otherwise control all necessary vessels, boats, terminals or other facilities required for the proper operation of such ferries or to enter into contracts with persons, firms or corporations for the operation thereof and to pay therefor such reasonable sums as may in the opinion of said Department of Transportation represent the fair value of the public service rendered.

The Department of Transportation, notwithstanding any other provision of law, may operate, or contract for the operation of, concessions on the ferries and at ferry facilities to provide to passengers on the ferries food, drink, and other refreshments, personal comfort items, and souvenirs publicizing the ferry system. (1927, c. 223; 1933, c. 172, s. 17; 1957, c. 65, s. 11; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1989, c. 752, s. 101; 1995, c. 211, s. 1.)

 

§ 136‑82.1.� Authority to insure vessels operated by Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation is vested with authority to purchase liability insurance, hull insurance, and protection insurance on all vessels and boats owned, leased, chartered or otherwise controlled and operated by the Department of Transportation. (1961, c. 486; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 27.)

 

§ 136‑82.2.� State toll bridges.

(a)������ Toll. � The Department of Transportation may charge a toll for the use of a bridge that is included in the Highway Trust Fund Intrastate System Projects, which are listed in G.S. 136‑179, and is at least three and one‑half miles in length. The toll may not exceed ten dollars ($10.00) for a round trip or five hundred dollars ($500.00) for an annual pass for a vehicle. The Department may set different rates of fees for passenger motor vehicles and for property‑carrying vehicles. The Department may employ personnel to collect the toll and may construct and operate a toll plaza for collection of the toll. Toll revenue that exceeds the cost of collecting the toll shall be credited to the Highway Trust Fund.

(b)������ Report. � The Department of Transportation shall report annually to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee on a toll imposed under this section. The report shall state the amount of toll revenue collected, the number of users paying the toll, the cost of collecting the toll, and any other information requested by the Committee. (1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 765, s. 1.)

 

§ 136‑83.� Repealed by Session Laws 1977, c. 464, s. 22.

 

§§ 136‑84 through 136‑87: Repealed by Session Laws 1983, c.� 684, s. 1.

 

§ 136‑88.� Authority of county commissioners with regard to ferries and toll bridges; rights and liabilities of owners of ferries or toll bridges not under supervision of Department of Transportation.

Subject to the provisions of G.S. 136‑67, 136‑99, and 153‑ 198, the boards of commissioners of the several counties are vested, in regard to the establishment, operation, maintenance, and supervision of ferries and toll bridges on public roads not under the supervision and control of the Department of Transportation, with all the power and authority regarding ferries and toll bridges vested by law in county commissioners on the thirty‑first day of March, 1931. And the owners or operators of ferries or toll bridges not under the supervision and control of the Department of Transportation shall be entitled to the same rights, powers, and privileges, and subject to the same duties, responsibilities and liabilities, to which owners or operators of ferries or toll bridges were entitled or were subject on the thirty‑first day of March, 1931. (1957, c. 65, s. 11; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1.)

 

§ 136‑89.� Safety measures; guard chains or gates.

Each and every person, firm or corporation, owning or operating a public ferry upon any sound, bay, river, creek or other stream, shall have securely affixed and attached thereto, at each end of the same, a detachable steel or iron chain, or in lieu thereof a steel or iron gate, and so affixed and arranged that the same shall be closed or fastened across the opposite end from the approach, whenever any motor vehicle, buggy, cart, wagon, or other conveyance shall be driven upon or shall enter upon the same; and shall be securely fastened or closed at each end of the ferry after such motor vehicle, buggy, cart, wagon, or other conveyance shall have been driven or shall have entered upon the same.� And the said gates or chains shall remain closed or fastened, at each end, until the voyage across the stream upon which said ferry is operated shall have been completed.� The Department of Transportation, as to ferries under its supervision, and the respective boards of county commissioners, as to other ferries, shall fix and determine a standard weight or size of chain, and a standard size, type, or character of gate, for use by said ferries, leaving optional with the said owner or operator the use of chains or gates.

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. (1923, c. 133; C.S., ss. 3825(a), 3825(b), 3825(c); 1927, c. 223; 1931, c. 145, s. 38; 1933, c. 172, s. 17; 1957, c. 65, s. 11; 1973, c. 507, s. 5; 1977, c. 464, s. 7.1; 1993, c. 539, s. 987; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c).)