(1) There shall be established in this state a system of roads known as the state highway system. The state highway system shall consist of the federal-aid primary roads, the federal-aid secondary roads, and the interstate system, including extensions thereof within urban areas, plus an amount not to exceed five percent of the mileage of such systems which may be declared to be state highways by the transportation commission while not being any part of any federal system.
(2) Interstate system as used in this section means any highway included as a part of the national system of interstate and defense highways as authorized and designated in accordance with section 7 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1944 (58 Stat. 838) and any other subsequent acts of congress.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the mileage of the state highway system to the total mileage constituting the system as of December 31, 1953, but federal-aid primary roads and federal-aid secondary roads may be added or deleted by the department of transportation according to need as determined by said department. Deletions from the federal-aid secondary system shall be mutually decided by the federal government, the state, and the affected county.
(4) (a) In addition to the powers now possessed by the transportation commission, it has the authority to select or designate any public highway, road, or street as a part of the federal-aid urban system or as an extension of the federal-aid primary or secondary system, in order to qualify such public highways, roads, or streets for the expenditure by the state of federal-aid funds to be apportioned to the state pursuant to the provisions of 23 U.S.C. sec. 135, as amended, and section 106 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970, and regulations promulgated thereunder. Any provision of this title to the contrary notwithstanding, any public highway, road, or street selected or designated under this subsection (4) shall continue to be a part of the county highway or city street systems and shall not be deemed to be a part of the state highway system unless the commission specifically provides to the contrary.
(b) Any receipt of moneys from the federal government, or any department thereof, pursuant to the provisions of 23 U.S.C. sec. 135, as amended, and section 106 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970 shall be paid into and credited to the state highway supplementary fund.
(c) The construction of all improvements authorized pursuant to the provisions of 23 U.S.C. sec. 135, as amended, and section 106 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970, and moneys received therefor, are under the supervision and control of the chief engineer.
Source: L. 53: p. 512, � 1. CRS 53: � 120-13-1. L. 57: p. 641, � 1. C.R.S. 1963: � 120-13-1. L. 70: p. 329, � 1. L. 71: p. 1140, � 1. L. 91: (1), (3), (4)(a), and (4)(c) amended, p. 1098, � 127, effective July 1. L. 2015: (4)(c) amended, (HB 15-1209), ch. 64, p. 176, � 8, effective March 30.
Cross references: For the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970, see Pub.L. 91-605, codified at 23 U.S.C. � 101 et seq.
43-2-101.5. Devolution of commuter highways to counties and municipalities - required study - definitions. (1) The transportation commission, using existing or easily obtainable data, shall conduct or direct the department of transportation to conduct a study of the state highway system for the purpose of determining which highways or portions of highways that are part of the state highway system are commuter highways. The commission shall report the results of the study to the transportation and energy committee of the house of representatives and the transportation committee of the senate, or any successor committees, no later than February 1, 2011. The commission may include in the report recommendations as to whether all or some of the identified commuter highways should be removed from the state highway system and thereafter maintained and supervised by counties and municipalities. If the commission recommends the removal of any commuter highways from the state highway system, it shall first have consulted with the affected metropolitan planning organizations in the conduct of the study, received the input of one local government elected official appointed by each of the five metropolitan planning organizations in the state for the purpose of providing such input, and presented the recommendations to the boards of the affected metropolitan planning organizations for review and comment and shall also make recommendations regarding modification of the formulas used to allocate moneys in the highway users tax fund between the state, counties, and municipalities set forth in part 2 of article 4 of this title to provide the level of funding necessary to avoid any unfunded mandates created by changes in the allocation of highway maintenance and supervision responsibilities between the state, counties, and municipalities that would result from the removal. A report made pursuant to this section that includes recommendations as to whether commuter highways should be removed from the state highway system shall include a statement regarding the extent to which the elected officials appointed by the metropolitan planning organizations in the state agree with the commission's recommendations.
(2) For purposes of this section:
(a) Commuter highway means a highway or a portion of a highway that:
(I) Is part of the state highway system;
(II) Is located within the territory of a metropolitan planning organization;
(III) Is not an interstate highway; and
(IV) Is determined in the conduct of the study required by subsection (1) of this section to be used at least eighty percent of the time, estimated as a percentage of total trips on the highway or portion of a highway, for travel within the territory of the metropolitan planning organization.
(b) Metropolitan planning organization means a metropolitan planning organization under the Federal Transit Act of 1998, 49 U.S.C. sec. 5301 et seq., as amended.
Source: L. 2010: Entire section added, (HB 10-1405), ch. 368, p. 1733, � 1, effective June 7.