Title 57, Highways, Bridges and Ferries

Sections 57-13-10 and 57-13-20 shall not apply to any bridge or crossing which does not constitute the terminus of a highway in the State highway system.

The commission may permit any person, county or municipality, or any combination thereof, to construct toll bridges and appertaining structures suitable for highway traffic on any roads of the state highway system. But before any such permit is issued an agreement satisfactory to…

No permit shall be issued by the Commission under the authority of Section 57-13-40 except after advertisement of all the terms and conditions affecting such permit in at least five daily newspapers of this State and after the county legislative delegation of every county directl…

The governing body of each county may have special supervision of the building of new bridges over the rivers and creeks of this State and of extra and extensive repairs of old bridges. When such work is to be accomplished the supervisor and governing body of the county shall giv…

If it shall be necessary to erect or repair any bridge over waters of this State which shall constitute a boundary line between counties, the governing bodies of such counties shall cause such bridge to be erected or repaired in the manner provided in Section 57-13-60, each count…

Any two or more counties of this State desiring to construct a bridge or bridges across any of the streams of the State, whether contiguous to such counties or not, may enter into a combination and form a bridge district.

It shall be unlawful for any person, board, commission or other group of persons charged with the duty of building bridges on the public highways of this State within the State highway system to construct any bridge of insufficient width to allow the free passage of at least two …

(A) The Department of Transportation may provide for the establishment, operation, maintenance, and supervision of public ferries connecting parts of the state highway system. (B) The governing body of a county may provide for the establishment, operation, maintenance, and superv…

The department and county governing bodies may enter into agreements with private entities to finance, acquire, construct, equip, maintain, or operate public ferries, in whole or in part, in this State.

Contributions from private citizens or public or private entities may be made to defray the operational or maintenance expenses of a ferry operated or maintained pursuant to this chapter. Contributors are immune from civil or criminal liability for damages resulting from acts or …

All roads, highways and ferries that have been laid out or appointed by virtue of an act of the General Assembly, an order of court or an order of the governing body of any county are declared to be public roads and ferries, and the county supervisor and the governing body of the…

The various county authorities may, in their discretion, abandon and close to highway traffic railroad-highway crossings on highways not in the State highway system superseded by the construction of grade separation structures, the reconstruction of existing structures or the rel…

The governing body of a county shall not enter into any contract for the expenditure of more than four fifths of its apportionment before the first of the last quarter of the fiscal year, and any contract entered into in excess of such apportionment shall be void. Any person who …

All fines and forfeitures used for and recovered under the provisions of this chapter shall be paid by the magistrate or constable collecting them to the county treasurer wherein such fines or forfeitures accrued.

The county supervisor of the county in which any part of a highway has been diverted from its original course without authority of law, on information of any two persons, shall commence a suit against any such person so offending in order to compel him, as soon as may be, to rest…

All accounts, claims and demands of whatever nature existing against any county for opening, constructing, maintaining and operating any public highway, road, bridge or ferry shall be presented to the governing body of the county duly attested, and, if approved by said body, the …

The governing body of any county may also open new public roads and widen or change the location of old public roads when, in its judgment, such change would be for the material interest of the traveling public. It may obtain the right of way for public roads or the drainage of p…

It shall be a misdemeanor to interfere with the surveyor employed by the governing body of a county to assist it in laying out or changing the location of public roads under Section 57-17-20, or his assistants, or with the marks set up by him, or by his orders, punishable by a fi…

The governing bodies of the several counties may condemn lands for the purpose of securing gravel, sand, clay, stone or other material for building and maintaining the public roads and highways within their respective counties, when and wheresoever necessary, in the manner provid…

The supervisor or governing body of any county may have the overseer construct footpaths or bridges over streams, swamps and marshes and along the highways of such county.

Each overseer, within his district, may erect and keep up at the expense of the county, at the forks and crossroads, a post and guideboard or finger board containing an inscription, in legible letters, directing the way and distance to the towns or public places situated on each …

The roadbed shall not be less than sixteen feet wide, exclusive of side ditches, roots and other obstructions, unless otherwise ordered by the governing body of the county, and shall be posted with substantial mileposts. Where roads run through lands where water stands or flows, …

In all counties in this State containing a city with a population of more than eighty-six thousand people according to the last official United States census the supervisor and the governing body may accept necessary rights of way, in writing, over and across private property for…

The governing body of each county may, in its discretion, employ or hire overseers and laborers upon the public highways, under the control of overseers, at such compensation as such body may determine. Commutation taxes and such other funds as may be applicable to highways may b…

The governing body of any county may work the highways in its county, or any part thereof, by a chain gang, without regard to the system used in other portions of the county.

Whenever in the judgment of the governing body of a county it shall become to the best interest of the county to combine with another county in the operation and management of the chain gangs of the respective counties, the governing bodies of such counties may combine their seve…

If the governing body of any county concludes to adopt a contract system for working, maintaining and operating the several sections of highways, roads, bridges and ferries in its county, or any part thereof, the county supervisor or governing body, as soon as practicable thereaf…

All bids shall be made in writing, sealed and addressed to the county supervisor and by him opened in the presence of and submitted to the governing body of the county. Such body shall accept the lowest bid made by a responsible person. But the governing body of the county may re…

The governing body of the county shall require a bond of any contractor to keep, repair and maintain the public highway for the period of twelve months from the date of contract, such bond to be in double the amount of the contract, with two or more sureties to be approved by the…

The governing body of any county may hire overseers and laborers and have the work performed as in its judgment may be most expedient and for the best interest of the county, and the county supervisors and governing bodies may arrange to work the roads of their respective countie…

The governing body of each county shall take charge of and superintend the repair of the highways in the county. The bridges shall be repaired under its supervision, and the expense thereof shall be paid out of the money in the county treasury raised and appropriated for this pur…

If the members of the governing body of any county neglect to have repaired any of the highways and bridges which by law are required to be kept in repair, they shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in a sum of not less than one hundred nor…

Each township in the several counties of the State and, in any county where no township exists, each tax district shall constitute a highway district.

The governing body of each county may levy annually a sum not exceeding one mill on all the taxable property of the respective counties, which shall constitute a part of the county road fund, to be expended by the governing body in the same manner as is provided by law for the us…

The governing body of any county may cause to be levied a road tax not to exceed one mill on all taxable property of any township in its county when so requested by a written petition signed by two thirds of the freeholders of such township, such tax to be collected as other taxe…

Except as otherwise provided herein, a commutation tax shall be payable on or before the first day of March of each year.

All moneys paid into the county treasury under a commutation road tax shall be kept separate and apart from the general county fund and, except as otherwise herein directed, shall be exclusively applied by the governing body of the county to repairing the highways and bridges of …

All persons who may be in the military or naval service of the United States shall be exempted from the payment of the commutation road tax or street tax during the term of their service.

The electors of any township who return real or personal property for taxation may levy and collect an annual road tax to supplement any special or other funds for like purposes, in the following manner: Upon the written petition or request of at least one fourth of the resident …

The governing body of any county may provide for the payment of the cost of construction of roads on any land acquired by such county from the United States and is situate adjacent to the Clarks Hill Reservoir by levying upon the owners of the property immediately abutting the ro…

The auditor of the county shall levy such assessment upon the abutting property owners upon the completion of the roads.

A property owner may at the time the assessment is made pay his proportionate share and thereby avoid the payment of interest.

The assessment upon such property shall constitute a lien having the same priority as the lien for taxes.

At such election only such electors as return real or personal property for taxation and who exhibit their tax receipts and registration certificates as required in general elections shall be allowed to vote. For the election the township board of assessors shall appoint the mana…

Within ten days after such election, if the majority of those voting shall vote for such levy, the board of assessors shall furnish the county auditor with a statement of the amount so levied, and the auditor shall enter such amount in the tax duplicate, and he shall annually, fo…

Any tax so collected shall be used for the improvement of the public roads of the township and shall be paid out by the county treasurer upon warrants drawn by the governing body of the county. Any surplus of such levy remaining in the hands of the county treasurer at the expirat…