Title 31 — HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES

When any bid, as provided for in § 31-12-14 has been accepted, the board of county commissioners, county highway board, or board of township supervisors, as the case may be, shall enter into a contract with the person whose bid has been accepted. The contract shall be in writing …

On any contracts provided for in § 31-12-15 , partial payments may be made during the progress of the work upon estimates prepared by the county highway superintendent, but in no case shall partial payments exceed ninety percent of the value of the labor and materials incorporate…

All bills for road construction work on the county highway system shall be filed in itemized form and certified to by the county highway superintendent before being allowed by the board of county commissioners, and before warrants in payment therefor are drawn by the county audit…

Each culvert constructed on the county highway system shall have a width of not less than twenty-four feet. Source: SL 1919, ch 333 , § 20; SDC 1939, § 28.0306; SL 2018, ch 168 , § 19. 31-12-19. Repealed by SL 2002, ch 142 , § 1 31-12-20. Repealed by SL 1978, ch 50 , § 6 31-12-21…

Repealed by SL 2002, ch 142 , § 1 31-12-20

Except for minimum maintenance roads established pursuant to § 31-12-46 , no county highway system may be changed, altered, or modified except by authority of and in accordance with a written executive order of the Department of Transportation. Any such change shall be shown on t…

Repealed by SL 2018, ch 168 , §§ 20 to 22. 31-12-24 Supervision of maintenance work by superintendent--Payments from road and bridge fund. 31-12-25 Establishment of witness corners required--Violation as petty offense. 31-12-26 Responsibility for secondary roads in unorganized te…

The county highway superintendent is hereby charged with the actual direction and supervision of all maintenance work in the county and shall keep a record of the costs of such work and certify to the correctness of all claims for such work, except for the purchase of machinery. …

Whenever it may become necessary in grading highways to make a cut which will disturb or destroy, or a fill which will cover up, a government or other established corner, it shall be the duty of the county highway superintendent to establish permanent witness corners and make a r…

Each board of county commissioners and county superintendent of highways in organized counties shall construct, repair, and maintain all secondary roads within the counties not included in any municipality, organized civil township, improvement district organized pursuant to chap…

Each board of county commissioners may levy annually a tax upon the taxable property within the county not included in any municipality, organized civil township, improvement district organized pursuant to chapter 7-25A , or county road district organized pursuant to chapter 31-1…

Any county may contract with residents served by county roads for the construction, maintenance, and improvement of county roads or any portion thereof serving county residents. If the board of county commissioners, upon a petition by a resident within the county, filed in the of…

Counties are authorized to contract with municipalities within their respective boundaries for the maintenance of public streets and alleys or any portion thereof within said municipalities. Whenever it shall be made to appear to the board of county commissioners of any county by…

The portion of the county road and bridge fund derived from motor vehicle license collections credited pursuant to § 32-11-4.1 shall be used by the board of county commissioners for constructing and maintaining county highways outside the limits of municipalities, and also for co…

A county may require any person performing construction or survey work within any county road right - of - way which may damage such right - of - way to furnish an indemnity bond in a reasonable amount as determined by the board of county commissioners to indemnify the county for…

If any landowner fails to prevent damage to the county's highway system caused by severe and persistent wind or water erosion on the landowner's property, the county may repair the damage and assess the cost of the repairs against the landowner. If the landowner fails to pay the …

No operations to repair erosion damage pursuant to § 31-12-44 may be undertaken by the county unless the conservation district in which the land is located has by resolution approved such action and until a notice that the erosion on the lands constitutes a nuisance has been give…

The board of county commissioners may designate any road on the county highway system as a minimum maintenance road if the board determines that the road or a segment of the road is used only occasionally or intermittently for passenger and commercial travel. The board shall iden…

The board of county commissioners shall post signs on a minimum maintenance road to notify the motoring public that it is a minimum maintenance road and that the public travels on the road at its own risk. The signs shall be posted at the entry points to and at regular intervals …

For any highway or segment of a highway the board of county commissioners determines, after public notice, is used less than is required for designation as a minimum maintenance highway under § 31-12-46 , the board may designate the highway as a no maintenance highway. The board …

The board of county commissioners shall post signs on a no maintenance highway designated under § 31-12-48 to notify the public that it is a no maintenance highway and that no travel is advised, and that the public travels at its own risk. The signs shall be posted at each entry …

The construction, improvement, maintenance, and repair of the county highway system, except as provided for state trunk highways shall be under the supervision of the county superintendent of highways in organized counties, who shall formulate and direct the policy of the county …

A no maintenance highway designated under § 31-12-48 is any highway that shall remain open to public access, but over which the board of county commissioners has no responsibility for maintenance or improvement, except as provided under §

The county highway system shall be permanently constructed and improved, and shall be maintained and repaired at the expense of the whole county, and the funds necessary therefor shall be levied and collected in the same manner as other county taxes, and it shall be the duty of t…

The county highway superintendent shall maintain in a county road book or database a complete record of the divisions of the county highway system into sections, each section being designated by some appropriate number, name, or letter, and the starting point and terminus of each…

The board of county commissioners may, if it deems it expedient, direct the county highway superintendent to make or cause to be made a survey and report upon all or parts of the county highway system for the purpose of ascertaining the condition of the parts thereof and of obtai…

Before any permanent improvement is undertaken upon the county highway system, the county highway superintendent shall, under the general direction of the board of county commissioners where deemed necessary, make or have made a survey and prepare or have prepared plans, specific…

Any area outside the boundary of a municipality, which is situated so that the construction or maintenance of roads becomes desirable, may be incorporated as a road district pursuant to this chapter. Source: SL 1977, ch 241 , § 1; SL 1982, ch 224 , § 1; SL 1998, ch 36 , § 9; SL 1…

Notwithstanding any other provision of chapter 31-12A , an area with three or fewer landowners may be formed into a road district pursuant to this chapter. Each landowner shall be a trustee at large and no election of trustees is required. After the district is incorporated and t…

As used in this chapter, the term, eligible voter, has the meaning specified in this section. Only persons or public corporations that are landowners of land located within the proposed or existing road district are eligible to vote in the formation election or any subsequent ele…

If a majority vote in favor of the incorporation, the territory is deemed a road district by the name and style specified in the order of incorporation issued by the board of county commissioners; otherwise, no further proceedings may be taken. However, any owner of land classifi…

If satisfied with the legality of the election, the board of county commissioners shall issue an order declaring that the road district is incorporated by the name adopted. The order shall be conclusive of the fact of such incorporation in all suits by or against the road distric…

Such road district, created and established under this chapter, shall be a governmental subdivision of this state and a public body, corporate and politic. Source: SL 1977, ch 241 , § 13.

The board of county commissioners is authorized to expend funds of the county, in the manner and to the extent permitted by law for other county expenditures, in the payment of necessary costs of preparation of petitions, surveys, maps, and applications submitted under the provis…

31-12A-15.1 Notice of meeting and election--Contents--Notice upon vacancy. 31-12A-16 Election of trustees at large--Terms of office--Annual elections. 31-12A-17 Nominations for trustee--Certificates of nomination. 31-12A-18 Trustees not compensated--Election of president. 31-12A-…

In each road district, after the initial election provided for in §§ 6-16-5 and 6-16-5.2 , an annual election of officers shall be held on the first Tuesday in May at a place in the district as the board of trustees shall designate. Unless otherwise specified, the election shall …

Notice of the meeting and election required by § 31-12A-15 shall be given by the secretary-treasurer by one publication in a legal newspaper of general circulation in each county in which the district is situated or notice may be given by posting in a public place within the dist…

There shall be elected from among the eligible voters of the district at the first election of a road district, held pursuant to § 6-16-5 or 6-16-5.2 , three trustees at large, who shall respectively hold their offices, one for a term of one year, one for a term of two years, and…

If the initial trustees are to be elected at the meeting at which the incorporation election is held as provided in § 6-16-5 , the trustees shall be nominated by the eligible voters in attendance at the meeting. Otherwise, the initial trustees shall be nominated as provided in §

The members of the board of trustees shall serve without compensation. They shall organize by electing one of their number president, whose duty it shall be to preside over all meetings of said board and to call all special meetings of said board when he or a majority of said boa…

The board of trustees shall adopt such rules and regulations for the conduct of the business of said board, and shall fix a stated time at which the regular meetings of said board shall be held. A majority of the board of trustees shall constitute a quorum but a smaller number ma…

Any person making application for the organization of a road district shall first obtain an accurate survey and map of the territory intended to be embraced within the limits of the road district, showing the boundaries and area of the district. The accuracy of the survey and map…

The board of trustees shall cause to be kept a full, complete, accurate, and itemized account of all of its proceedings, ordinances, orders, resolutions, rules, and regulations. Source: SL 1977, ch 241 , § 20.

The board of trustees of any sanitary district incorporated under chapter 34A-5 may submit to the voters of the district at an annual election or a special election called and held in accordance with chapter 9-13 the question of whether the district shall be authorized to exercis…

The board of trustees may: (1) Appoint a treasurer and a clerk, an engineer, attorney, and other employees for the road district and fix their compensation. These officers shall hold their respective offices at the pleasure of the board, and be bonded for the faithful performance…

The board of trustees shall have the power to pass all necessary ordinances, resolutions, orders, rules, and regulations for the proper management and conduct of the business of said road district, and to carry into effect the ordinances, orders, resolutions, rules, and regulatio…

The board of trustees may cause the amount of any charges, and interest and penalties on the charges, for road district service rendered or made available to any land within and part of the district, which are due and unpaid on the first day of October in each year to be certifie…

No trustee or employee of a road district may be directly or indirectly interested in any contract, work, or business of the district, or the sale of any article, the expense, price, or cost of which is paid by the district, nor in the purchase of any real, personal, or other pro…

All proceedings for constructing and maintaining the roads and the borrowing of money, making of special assessments, and issuing of bonds shall be governed, to the extent applicable, by § 9-12-1 and chapters 9-26 , 9-40 , 9-43 , 9-45 , and 9-46 . Source: SL 1977, ch 241 , § 24; …

Any road constructed or maintained pursuant to this chapter is a public highway, and any speed limits, vehicle weight limits, and any other vehicle or traffic regulations on such roads may be enforced by any law enforcement officer. Source: SL 1999, ch 151 , § 3.