§35. Minimum safety guidelines of highway design, maintenance, and construction; exemptions

A. The Department of Transportation and Development shall adopt minimum safety guidelines with respect to highway and bridge design, construction, and maintenance. These guidelines shall correlate with and, so far as possible, conform to the system then current as approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials allowing the flexibilities incorporated therein. Hereafter, the state highway system shall conform to such safety guidelines.

B. The chief engineer may designate highways within the state highway system for reconstruction or repair at guidelines which are less than those as approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; however, no reconstruction or repair shall be done on any highway under this Part which results in a pavement width of less than eighteen feet, and all reconstruction or repair done under this Part shall be accomplished within the existing right-of-way.

C. The Department of Transportation and Development shall adopt specific minimum safety guidelines with respect to highway and bridge design, construction, and maintenance for all public roads, highways, and streets under the jurisdiction of any political subdivision of this state and not in the state-maintained highway system. These guidelines shall correlate with and, so far as possible, conform to the system then current as approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials allowing the flexibilities incorporated therein. Prior to implementation by the department, the guidelines shall be submitted to the Senate and House committees on transportation, highways, and public works for review in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 49:950 et seq.

D. If any such improvements constructed by a political subdivision of this state fail to conform to such guidelines, payment of any funds allocated to the political subdivision for the construction purposes shall be withheld by the Department of Transportation and Development until such time as the guidelines established by the department are complied with. These guidelines shall not apply to maintenance, improvement, or blacktopping of existing dead-end alleys, local lanes, and other local roads that do not connect traveled throughways.

E.(1)(a) The state, the Department of Transportation and Development, and any political subdivision of the state have a duty to maintain, repair, construct, or reconstruct any public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, in a manner that is not unreasonably dangerous for a reasonably prudent driver.

(b) When any public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, is maintained, repaired, constructed, or reconstructed in accordance with the regulations or guidelines in effect on the date of approval by the chief engineer, or equivalent official in the case of a political subdivision of the state, of the original or amended design for the construction or major reconstruction, whichever is later, of such public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, there shall be a presumption that any such public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, is maintained, repaired, constructed, or reconstructed in a reasonably safe condition.

(c) When any public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, does not conform to one or more regulations or guidelines established or adopted subsequent to the date of such approval of the original or amended design plan for the construction or major reconstruction, whichever is later, of any such public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, such nonconformity shall not render any such public road, highway, bridge, or street, or any portion thereof, unreasonably dangerous or defective.

(2) When determining whether or not an unreasonably dangerous condition exists under this Paragraph, if a regulation or guideline is not directly applicable to the maintenance, repair, construction, or reconstruction, then evidence of failure to adhere to such regulation or guideline shall not be admissible in a court proceeding for any purpose.

F. The provisions of this Section shall not affect the requirement that the state, through the Department of Transportation and Development, prioritize the repair, maintenance, construction, or reconstruction of public roads, highways, bridges, or streets based on the need for repair, maintenance, construction, or reconstruction beginning with the public roads, highways, bridges, or streets which are most in need of repair, maintenance, construction, or reconstruction, and ending with public roads, highways, bridges, or streets which are least in need of repair, maintenance, construction, or reconstruction, and ensuring that the public roads, highways, bridges, or streets which are most in need of repair and maintenance will be repaired first, all pursuant to and consistent with the criteria contained in the priority program set forth in R.S. 48:228 through 233.

G. The priority program set forth in R.S. 48:228 through 233 is an administrative process for determining the order of repair, maintenance, construction, or reconstruction of public roads, highways, bridges, or streets and nothing contained therein creates an independent cause of action for personal injury or property damage.

H. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to regulations affecting the installation or design of signs imposed by the United States Department of Transportation.

Added by Acts 1968, No. 276, §1. Amended by Acts 1970, No. 126, §1, emerg. eff. June 23, 1970 at 2:00 p.m.; Acts 1976, 2nd Ex.Sess., No. 1, §1; Acts 1977, No. 291, §1; Acts 1984, No. 625, §1; Acts 1986, No. 119, §1, eff. June 26, 1986; Acts 1997, No. 1330, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1223, §1, eff. July 9, 1999; Acts 2004, No. 127, §1; Acts 2009, No. 219, §1, eff. June 30, 2009.