Title TN, Transportation Code

Sec. 251.006. OBTAINING MATERIAL FOR PUBLIC ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of a county may condemn material necessary to construct, repair, or maintain public roads if the owner of the material rejects the price that the court determines to be a fair price. (b) The commission…

Sec. 251.007. CLASSIFICATION OF COUNTY ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of each county shall classify each public road in the county as a first-class, second-class, or third-class road. (b) A county may not reduce a first-class or second-class road to a lower class. (c) A first…

Sec. 251.008. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTY ROADS. A public road of any class must: (1) be clear of all obstructions; (2) have all stumps over six inches in diameter cut down to not more than six inches of the surface and rounded off; and (3) have all stumps of six inches or le…

Sec. 251.009. CONSTRUCTION OF CATTLE GUARDS ON COUNTY ROADS; OFFENSE. (a) The commissioners court of a county may authorize the construction of cattle guards on a county road of any class. A cattle guard authorized under this section is not an obstruction of the road. (b) The com…

Sec. 251.0095. REPLACEMENT AND REPAIR OF EXISTING CATTLE GUARDS ON COUNTY ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of a county may authorize the replacement or repair of an existing cattle guard on a county road of any class. (b) The commissioners court may replace or repair a cattle g…

Sec. 251.0096. REMOVAL OF CATTLE GUARDS FROM COUNTY ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of a county may remove a cattle guard from a county road of any class if the commissioners court notifies each person who owns land adjacent to the cattle guard by certified mail not less than …

Sec. 251.010. GATES ON THIRD-CLASS AND NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS; OFFENSES. (a) A person, including a neighborhood association, who owns or controls real property on which a third-class road or a neighborhood road established under Section 251.053 is located for which the right-of-way w…

Sec. 251.011. DETOUR ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of a county shall establish detour roads for the convenience of the public when a county road that is not part of the state highway system must be closed to traffic for road construction. When a county detour road is in use,…

Sec. 251.012. COUNTY AUTHORITY IN MUNICIPALITY. (a) With the approval of the governing body of a municipality, the commissioners court of a county may spend county money to finance the construction, improvement, maintenance, or repair of a street or alley in the county that is lo…

Sec. 251.013. ROAD NAMES AND ADDRESS NUMBERS. (a) The commissioners court of a county by order may adopt uniform standards for naming public roads located wholly or partly in unincorporated areas of the county and for assigning address numbers to property located in unincorporate…

Sec. 251.014. COUNTY IMPROVEMENT OF STATE HIGHWAY. (a) The commissioners court of a county may enter into an agreement with the commission for the county to carry out a project or activity for the improvement of a segment of the state highway system. (b) In this section, "improve…

Sec. 251.015. ASSISTING OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY. The commissioners court of a county may use county road equipment, construction equipment, including trucks, and employees necessary to operate the equipment to assist another governmental entity on a project if: (1) the cost doe…

Sec. 251.016. GENERAL COUNTY AUTHORITY OVER ROADS, HIGHWAYS, AND BRIDGES. The commissioners court of a county may exercise general control over all roads, highways, and bridges in the county. Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 62, Sec. 13.11(b), eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Sec. 251.0165. CONTROL OF ACCESS WITHIN CERTAIN COUNTIES. (a) Except as limited by Section 203.032, a county with a population of 3.3 million or more or a county adjacent to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more, by resolution or order, may: (1) deny access to or from…

Sec. 251.017. COUNTY AUTHORITY TO SET FEE. The commissioners court of a county may set a reasonable fee for the county's issuance of a permit authorized by this chapter for which a fee is not specifically prescribed. The fee must be set and itemized in the county's budget as part…

Sec. 251.019. DONATIONS. (a) A commissioners court may accept donations of labor, money, or other property to aid in the building or maintaining of roads, culverts, or bridges in the county. (b) A county operating under the county road department system on September 1, 2013, may …

Sec. 251.051. GENERAL AUTHORITY OF COMMISSIONERS COURT. (a) The commissioners court of a county shall: (1) order that public roads be laid out, opened, discontinued, closed, abandoned, vacated, or altered; and (2) assume control of streets and alleys in a municipality that does n…

Sec. 251.052. PUBLIC APPLICATION FOR NEW ROAD OR ROAD CHANGE. (a) The residents of a precinct may apply for a new road or a change in an existing road by presenting to the commissioners court a petition signed by: (1) eight property owners in the precinct, if the application is t…

Sec. 251.053. NEIGHBORHOOD ROADS. (a) As provided by this section, a commissioners court may declare as a public road: (1) any line between the locations of any persons; (2) any section line; or (3) any practical route that is convenient to property owners while avoiding hills, m…

Sec. 251.055. EXTENDING FARM-TO-MARKET ROAD IN ADJOINING COUNTY. A county that determines that it would significantly benefit from the extension of a farm-to-market road in an adjoining county may contract with the adjoining county for the extension and agree to pay all or part o…

Sec. 251.056. ROADS ACROSS PUBLIC REAL PROPERTY. (a) A public road may not be opened across real property owned and used or intended for use for public purposes by a state institution and not subject to sale under the general law of this state without the consent of the governing…

Sec. 251.057. ABANDONMENT OF COUNTY ROAD. (a) A county road is abandoned when its use has become so infrequent that one or more adjoining property owners have enclosed the road with a fence continuously for at least 20 years. The abandoned road may be reestablished as a public ro…

Sec. 251.058. CLOSING, ABANDONING, AND VACATING PUBLIC ROAD. (a) A property owner may not enjoin the entry or enforcement of an order of a commissioners court, acting at the request of any person or on its own initiative, to close, abandon, and vacate a public road or portion of …

Sec. 251.059. MAINTAINING ESTABLISHED COUNTY ROADS. (a) When the commissioners court of a county has established a county road and (i) the laying out of the road has been established by a jury of view, (ii) the county road has been in continuous use for more than 30 years, and (i…

Sec. 251.081. GENERAL AUTHORITY TO ERECT AND MAINTAIN BRIDGES. The commissioners court of a county may erect and maintain any necessary bridge in the county and make any necessary appropriation for that purpose. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 251.082. ERECTION OF JOINT COUNTY BRIDGES. On equitable terms agreed to by the commissioners courts of the counties, two or more counties jointly may erect a bridge over a stream that forms the boundary between counties or at any other location at which the counties choose t…

Sec. 251.083. ERECTING AND MAINTAINING BRIDGE IN MUNICIPALITY. (a) The commissioners court of a county may erect a bridge in a municipality in the manner authorized by law for the erection of a bridge outside a municipality. (b) The commissioners court and the governing body of t…

Sec. 251.101. CONDEMNATION FOR COUNTY ROAD IN MUNICIPALITY. (a) A county may exercise the power of eminent domain in a municipality with the prior consent of the governing body of the municipality to condemn and acquire real property, a right-of-way, or an easement in public or p…

Sec. 251.102. COST OF RELOCATING OR ADJUSTING UTILITY FACILITY. A county shall include the cost of relocating or adjusting an eligible utility facility in the expense of right-of-way acquisition. Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.

Sec. 251.103. RELOCATING WATER LINE. A county may pay for relocating a water line owned by a water control and improvement district if: (1) the relocation is necessary to complete construction or improvement of a farm-to-market road as described by Section 256.008; and (2) the di…

Sec. 251.151. AUTHORITY OF COMMISSIONERS COURT TO REGULATE CERTAIN ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of a county may regulate traffic on a county road or on real property owned by the county that is under the jurisdiction of the commissioners court. (b) Under the terms of an int…

Sec. 251.152. PUBLIC HEARING REQUIRED. (a) Except as provided by Section 251.159, before the commissioners court may issue a traffic regulation under this subchapter, the commissioners court must hold a public hearing on the proposed regulation. (b) The commissioners court shall …

Sec. 251.153. LOAD LIMITS ON COUNTY ROADS AND BRIDGES. (a) The commissioners court of a county may establish load limits for any county road or bridge in the manner prescribed by Section 621.301. (b) The commissioners court may authorize a county traffic officer, sheriff, deputy …

Sec. 251.154. MAXIMUM REASONABLE AND PRUDENT SPEEDS ON COUNTY ROADS. (a) The commissioners court of a county, by order entered on the minutes of the court, may determine and set a maximum reasonable and prudent speed for a vehicle travelling on any segment of a county road, inclu…

Sec. 251.155. RESTRICTED TRAFFIC ZONES. (a) The commissioners court of a county may adopt regulations establishing a system of traffic control devices in restricted traffic zones on: (1) property described by Section 251.151(a); and (2) property abutting a public road that is the…

Sec. 251.156. PARKING RESTRICTIONS. (a) The commissioners court of a county by order may have signs installed that prohibit or restrict the stopping, standing, or parking of a vehicle in a restricted traffic zone on property described by Section 251.151, if in the opinion of the …

Sec. 251.157. PROHIBITING OR RESTRICTING USE OF ROAD. (a) In this section, "road supervisor" means a person authorized to supervise roads in a county or in a district or precinct of a county. (b) A road supervisor may prohibit or restrict, if an alternative, more suitable road is…

Sec. 251.1575. PROHIBITING USE OF ROAD FOR CERTAIN VEHICLES. (a) A commissioners court may identify an alternate route to a road and require heavy vehicles having a gross weight of more than 60,000 pounds to travel the alternate route in order to prevent excessive damage to the r…

Sec. 251.158. TEMPORARY USE OF COUNTY ROAD FOR FESTIVAL OR CIVIC EVENT. (a) The commissioners court of a county by order may permit the temporary use of a county road located in an unincorporated area of the county for a civic event, including a festival. (b) The court by order s…

Sec. 251.159. DELEGATION OF COMMISSIONERS' AUTHORITY. (a) This section applies only to a county with a population of more than 78,000. (b) The commissioners court of a county may delegate to the county engineer or other county employee any function of the commissioners court unde…

Sec. 251.160. LIABILITY OF OWNER OR OPERATOR FOR ROAD DAMAGE. (a) A person who operates or moves a vehicle or other object on a public road or bridge and the owner of the vehicle or other object are jointly and severally liable for damage sustained by the road or bridge as a resu…

Sec. 251.161. VIOLATIONS OF SUBCHAPTER; OFFENSE. (a) A person commits a misdemeanor offense if the person: (1) stops, stands, or parks a vehicle in violation of a restriction stated on a sign installed under Section 251.156; (2) defaces, injures, knocks down, or removes a sign or…