A. The county commissioners in each county shall designate a county primary road system as provided for in Section 654 of this title, and upon completion, the board of county commissioners in any county may program bridge or roadway projects located on the county primary road system in accordance with the provisions of this section.

B. Any bridge or roadway construction project which materially contributes to improving the adequacy of the county primary road system which meets accepted design standards may be considered eligible.

C. Design standards for projects to be constructed under this section shall be developed cooperatively between the Oklahoma Cooperative Circuit Engineering Districts Board and the Department of Transportation; provided however, any such standards so developed must meet the minimum criteria required to assure federal participation in the project if such participation is to be used for such project.

D. The Department of Transportation shall be the administering agency, and, in cooperation with the Oklahoma Cooperative Circuit Engineering Districts Board, shall develop and promulgate regulations for the carrying out of the provisions of this section. Provided however, any such administrative procedures so developed shall be subject to the approval of the State Transportation Commission.

E. The county shall be responsible for plans, surveys and other necessary engineering to prepare the project for contract letting; however, construction engineering shall be performed by the Department of Transportation.

F. The county shall be responsible for the acquisition of all rights-of-way required to construct the project including relocation assistance payments and the costs associated with necessary utility relocations or adjustments. All right-of-way acquisition activities shall be carried out in accordance with applicable state statutes. Assistance in the preparation of deeds and easements, in the actual acquisition of real property, and in the relocation of families and businesses shall be provided by the Department of Transportation upon written request of the county.

G. Projects shall be let to contract by the State Transportation Commission through competitive bidding procedures, provided however, force account projects may be awarded to the county by the Transportation Commission based upon agreed unit prices, if deemed in the best public interest.

H. Counties constructing projects under provisions of this section shall enter into an agreement with the Department of Transportation that the county will adequately maintain any bridge or road built under this section. Funds provided to support the accomplishment of this section shall be withheld from any county not providing adequate maintenance for projects built under its provisions.

I. While the intent of the Legislature is that any funds utilized under this section be directed primarily toward the replacement of inadequate bridges on the county primary road system, emphasizing those portions of that system serving as school bus routes, it is also recognized that other critical road needs may exist in the various counties; therefore, projects in an amount not to exceed One Hundred Thousand Dollars ($100,000.00) may be approved under this section for these other critical needs in those instances where such approval can be justified by the county. It is further the intent of the Legislature that this be a continuing program so that significant improvement in the overall adequacy of Oklahoma's county road system may be realized.

Added by Laws 1978, c. 274, § 10, emerg. eff. May 10, 1978. Amended by Laws 1979, c. 288, § 11, emerg. eff. June 7, 1979; Laws 1980, c. 349, § 16, emerg. eff. June 25, 1980; Laws 1992, c. 80, § 3, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 2017, c. 20, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2017.