(A)

(1) The director of transportation may lay out, establish, acquire, open, construct, improve, maintain, regulate, vacate, or abandon limited access highways or freeways in the same manner in which the director may lay out, establish, acquire, open, construct, improve, maintain, regulate, vacate, or abandon highways. The director, board, or municipal authority shall have all additional authority relative to such limited access highways or freeways as the director possesses relative to highways, including the authority to acquire by gift, purchase, condemnation, or otherwise land required for right of way.

(2) Prior to the director establishing any road, highway, or street as a limited access highway or freeway, the director shall provide notice in the same manner as the director provides notice of a road closure. The director shall, at a minimum, publish notice of the proposal at least twice in a newspaper of general circulation in each county where the limited access highway or freeway is proposed to be established. The director also shall provide the notice to each statewide organization that represents farmers within this state at least four weeks prior to taking action on the proposal. The notice shall include all of the following information:

(a) The location of the proposed limited access highway or freeway;

(b) The manner by which comments regarding the proposal may be submitted, as established by the director;

(c) The date by which comments must be received, which shall be not less than thirty days after the last date of publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

(B) Where an existing highway, in whole or part, has been designated as, or included within, a limited access highway or freeway, existing easements of access may be extinguished by purchase, gift, agreement, or by condemnation.

(C) As an adjunct of any limited access highway or freeway the director, board, or municipal authority may lay out and construct highways and drives, to be designated as service highways, to provide access from areas adjacent to a limited access highway or freeway.

(D) A "limited access highway" or "freeway" is a highway especially designed for through traffic and over which abutting property owners have no easement or right of access by reason of the fact that their property abuts upon such highway, and access to which may be allowed only at highway intersections designated by the director.

(E) Limitations imposed on the mileage of state highways shall not apply to highways established under this section.

Amended by 132nd General Assembly File No. TBD, HB 26, §101.01, eff. 6/30/2017.

Effective Date: 09-28-1973 .