Title 31, Highways, Roads, Bridges and Ferries

(1) The kind, character and volume of traffic now moving over public highways, the speed at which such traffic moves, the prime and essential factors such as speed, safety and convenience to which transportation of persons and property over public highways is entitled, the relati…

As used in ORS 374.005 to 374.095, “throughway” means a highway or street especially designed for through traffic, over, from or to which owners or occupants of abutting land or other persons have no easement of access or only a limited easement of access, light, air or view, by …

(1) The Department of Transportation, in addition to and without restricting, limiting or repealing any powers and authority which it now has, may lay out, locate, relocate, adopt, establish, construct, designate, maintain and supervise the use and operation of new highways known…

No throughway shall be established upon or across the tracks, yards, station grounds or other operating properties of any common carrier railroad, or upon or across any industrial or business property served by railroad industrial trackage, or upon or across any property at such …

Any state highway or section thereof which has been located, established, designated and constructed as a throughway may, in whole or in part, be changed from a throughway to an ordinary highway by the Department of Transportation if in its judgment such action will best serve pu…

(1) The Department of Transportation may so design a throughway and so regulate, restrict or prohibit access thereto and use thereof as to best serve the traffic for which the throughway is intended. In this connection and for such purpose the department may divide and separate a…

(1) The Department of Transportation may, in the name of the state, acquire by agreement, donation or exercise of the power of eminent domain, fee title to or any interest in any real property, including easements of air, view, light and access, which in the opinion or judgment o…

Whenever it becomes necessary to acquire any real property for use in connection with the location, relocation, construction, reconstruction, improvement and maintenance of any throughway or section thereof or for a service road, the Department of Transportation may, in its discr…

The Department of Transportation may pay the cost incident to the acquisition of real property or any interest therein for the establishment, location and relocation of throughways and their construction, reconstruction and maintenance out of state highway funds in the same manne…

In case an agreement provided for in ORS 374.080 has been entered into, proceedings in eminent domain for the acquisition of real property or any interest therein deemed necessary therefor, may be brought in the name of the state by the Department of Transportation, alone or join…

In any proceeding in eminent domain evidence of the entire plan of improvement is admissible for the purpose of determining: (1) Value of property taken. (2) All damages by reason of deprivation of right of access to any highway to be constructed, established or maintained as a t…

The Department of Transportation, with the official approval of municipal authorities of cities with respect to city streets and with the official approval of the county court or board of county commissioners of any county with respect to county roads, may: (1) Close any street, …

(1) The Department of Transportation shall provide for the intersection of throughways by county roads running into or across throughways. (2) Any county road may be closed at the points where it runs into or intersects the throughway if the consent of the county court or board o…

(1) Should any portion or section of a throughway be within the corporate limits of a city, provision shall be made for access thereto from existing streets at points designated by the municipal authorities of the city. In the event plans and specifications are submitted to the m…

The municipal authorities of cities and the county court or board of county commissioners of any county may do anything or all things necessary to cooperate with the Department of Transportation for laying out, acquiring and constructing any section or portion of any street or hi…

The Department of Transportation may enter into cooperative agreements with the federal government and with any county or city for the location, adoption, construction and maintenance of a throughway either within or without the corporate limits of any city, with respect to highw…

Wherever by the location, relocation, establishment and construction or reconstruction of a throughway under ORS 374.005 to 374.095 real property, title to which is held under one ownership, is severed and the land is being used for farm or other agricultural purposes, provision …

Whenever a throughway is located, relocated, constructed or reconstructed through or over farm or agricultural property and thereby all reasonable ingress and egress have been destroyed, the Department of Transportation shall provide access from the abutting properties to the thr…

If under ORS 374.005 to 374.095 any existing highway or section of existing highway is converted into a throughway, by reason thereof real properties then occupied and used are affected and such abutting real properties are dependent upon the existing highway or section of highwa…

It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly that the Department of Transportation, local governments and regional governments work collaboratively to achieve accessibility and mobility goals for a balanced transportation system. [1999 c.972 §1]

As used in ORS 374.302 to 374.334: (1) “Approach road” includes a private road that crosses a state highway or a county road. (2) “Channelization” means the roadway lane configuration necessary to safely accommodate turning movements from the highway to an intersecting approach. …

(1) A person may not place, build or construct on the right of way of any state highway or county road, any approach road, structure, pipeline, ditch, cable or wire, or any other facility, thing or appurtenance, or substantially alter any such facility, thing or appurtenance or c…

(1) If any person, firm or corporation builds or constructs on the right of way of any state highway or county road any approach road or any other facility, thing or appurtenance without first obtaining the written permission required by ORS 374.305, the Department of Transportat…

(1)(a) An owner of real property abutting a state highway with an existing approach road is presumed to have the Department of Transportation’s written permission for the approach road based upon documentation for a highway project completed by the department that shows that the …

(1) The county court or board of county commissioners shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations and may issue permits, not inconsistent with law, for the use of the rights of way of county roads for the purposes described in ORS 374.305. (2) Rules and regulations adopted and p…

(1) The Department of Transportation shall adopt rules consistent with this section and ORS 374.312 to govern the process of application for issuance of permits for approach roads to state highways by owners of property abutting highways. However, the department may not issue a p…

The objective standards for spacing, channelization and sight distance for decisions to approve, modify or deny an approach permit are as follows: (1) When making a decision to approve or deny an application for an approach permit under ORS 374.312, the Department of Transportati…

(1) It is the intent of the Legislative Assembly to develop a highway access management system based on objective standards that will balance the economic development objectives of properties abutting state highways with the transportation safety and access management objectives …

(1) If the Department of Transportation closes an approach road for which a permit was issued under ORS 374.308 or 374.310 or that was allowed by law prior to enactment of statutory permit requirements for approach roads, or if the department denies an application for an approach…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the Department of Transportation may require a person applying for an approach permit under ORS 374.312 to submit a traffic impact analysis in conjunction with the application for an approach permit. (2) The department may…

All construction under the permits issued under ORS 374.309 and 374.310 shall be under the supervision of the granting authority and at the expense of the applicant. After completion of the construction of the particular approach road, facility, thing or appurtenance, they shall …

An owner of real property abutting a state highway with an existing approach road that is presumed to have written permission under ORS 374.308 or that has an approach permit under ORS 374.310 is responsible for the cost and performance of maintaining the approach road, in accord…

(1) Upon failure of the applicant to construct or maintain the particular approach road, facility, thing or appurtenance in accordance with the rules and regulations and the conditions of the permit, the Department of Transportation or the county governing body shall, after the e…

Nothing in ORS 374.305 to 374.325 shall: (1) Limit or affect any of the powers granted to, or duties imposed upon, the county courts or boards of county commissioners, the Department of Transportation or the Public Utility Commission by ORS 758.010 and 758.020, or any rights gran…

(1) The Department of Transportation shall work collaboratively with highway users on all proposals to install a raised or depressed barrier on two-lane segments of state highways. (2) As used in this section “highway users” includes representatives of the freight industry and au…

The Oregon Transportation Commission shall periodically review, not less often than every six years, the classification of state highways, including the designation of highway segments as expressways, as a part of its comprehensive, long-range transportation plan developed pursua…

(1) When it is determined by the Department of Transportation and a city that it is in the best interest of highway users to abandon a segment of the state highway, the department and the city may enter into an agreement to transfer jurisdiction and ownership of the segment of st…

(1) ORS 374.305, 374.310 and 374.325, as those sections were amended by chapter 323, Oregon Laws 1957, and ORS 374.309 do not affect any approach road, structure, pipeline, ditch, cable or wire, or other facility, thing or appurtenance lawfully placed or constructed upon the righ…

(1) As used in this section, “facility plan” includes, but is not limited to, interchange area management plans, corridor plans, transportation refinement plans and access management plans. (2) Every facility plan and access management strategy developed for a highway improvement…

(1) As used in this section: (a) “Access management strategy” means a project delivery strategy developed by the Department of Transportation, in collaboration with cities, counties and owners of real property abutting a state highway in the affected area, that identifies the loc…

Where any private road crosses or is crossed by a public highway, the operation of a motor vehicle across the public highway or upon the public highway for a distance of not more than 1,200 feet in the use of the private road is not subject to ORS 811.450, 815.155, 815.160, 815.1…

Any person owning, using or occupying lands on both sides of any public road is entitled to the privilege of making a crossing under the road for the purpose of letting the person’s cattle and other domestic animals cross the road. A crossing may be installed as provided under OR…

The Department of Transportation shall adopt rules regulating the procedures and circumstances under which the department may restrict turning movements onto a state highway from an approach road for which a permit was issued under ORS 374.308 or 374.310 when the restriction is n…

The Department of Transportation shall establish a process through which persons affected by decisions of the department regarding access to highways may appeal the decisions. [1999 c.686 §3]

There is created a set of dispute resolution procedures governing an appeal of the Department of Transportation’s decision regarding an approach permit or the removal or modification of an approach. The procedures described in this section include but are not necessarily limited …

(1) If the applicant or permit holder of an approach permit requests a review by an Access Management Dispute Review Board under ORS 374.355, the Department of Transportation shall appoint an Access Management Dispute Review Board by selecting members for a board consisting of an…

No rights in or to any state highway, including what is known as right of access, shall accrue to any real property abutting upon any portion of any state highway constructed, relocated or reconstructed after May 12, 1951, upon right of way, no part of the width of which was acqu…

In connection with any acquisition of real property for right of way of any state highway, the Department of Transportation shall prescribe and define the location, width, nature and extent of any right of access that may be permitted by the department to pertain to real property…

The Department of Transportation may commence and prosecute to final determination any suit, action or proceeding in the name of the state by and through the department, which in its judgment is necessary to enjoin and prevent any person, whether acting individually or by agent, …

(1) The county court or board of county commissioners may acquire by purchase, agreement, donation or exercise of the power of eminent domain, fee title or any interest in real property, including easements of air, view, light and access, which is necessary for the construction o…