2009 North Carolina Code
Chapter 136 - Transportation.
§ 136-44.7. Secondary roads; annual work program.

§ 136‑44.7.  Secondary roads; annual work program.

(a)        The Department of Transportation shall be responsible for developing criteria for improvements and maintenance of secondary roads. The criteria shall be adopted by the Board of Transportation before it shall become effective. The Department of Transportation shall be responsible for developing annual work programs for both construction and maintenance of secondary roads in each county in accordance with criteria developed. It shall reflect the long‑range and immediate goals of the Department of Transportation. Projects on the annual construction program for each county shall be rated according to their priority based upon the secondary road criteria and standards which shall be uniform throughout the State. Tentative construction projects and estimated funding shall also be listed in accordance to priority. The annual construction program shall be adopted by the Board of Transportation before it shall become effective.

(b)        When a secondary road in a county is listed in the first 10 secondary roads to be paved during a year on a priority list issued by the Department of Transportation under this section, the secondary road cannot be removed from the top 10 of that list or any subsequent list until it is paved. All secondary roads in a county shall be paved, insofar as possible, in the priority order of the list. When a secondary road in the top 10 of that list is removed from the list because it has been paved, the next secondary road on the priority list shall be moved up to the top 10 of that list and shall remain there until it is paved.

(c)        When it is necessary for the Department of Transportation to acquire a right‑of‑way in accordance with (a) and (b) of this section in order to pave a secondary road or undertake a maintenance project, the Department shall negotiate the acquisition of the right‑of‑way for a period of up to six months. At the end of that period, if one or more property owners have not dedicated the necessary right‑of‑way and at least seventy‑five percent (75%) of the property owners adjacent to the project and the owners of the majority of the road frontage adjacent to the project have dedicated the necessary property for the right‑of‑way and have provided funds required by Department rule to the Department to cover the costs of condemning the remaining property, the Department shall initiate condemnation proceedings pursuant to Article 9 of this Chapter to acquire the remaining property necessary for the project. (1973, c. 507, s. 3; 1975, c. 716, s. 7; 1977, c. 464, s. 8; 1989, c. 692, s. 1.9; 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 900, s. 99; 2001‑501, s. 2; 2002‑86, s. 1.)