The Florida Senate

All roads which are open and available for use by the public and dedicated to the public use, according to law or by prescription, are hereby declared to be, and are established as, public roads.

Public roads shall be divided into four systems:

The department shall have the authority to locate and designate certain transportation facilities as part of the State Highway System and to construct and maintain them with funds available to the department. Any transportation facility when so located and designated shall become the property of the state and shall be under the jurisdiction and control of the department. Such a transportation facility may not be redesignated or relocated until after a public hearing is conducted by the department in each county affected. Reasonable notice of the hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in such county 14 days prior to the hearing in addition to any other notice required by law. Any interested party shall have the opportunity to be heard either in person or by counsel and to introduce testimony in such person’s behalf at the hearing.

The department may survey and locate the line or route of any existing or proposed transportation facility or section thereof designated as part of the State Highway System or the line or route of any transportation corridor designated by the department. When locating the line or route, the department shall consider the availability of property currently owned by this state. Right-of-way maps used for the acquisition of real property rights and adopted by the department shall, upon completion of monumentation, be filed in accordance with chapter 177 in the office of the clerk of the circuit court in the appropriate county.

The department may establish standards for lanes on the State Highway System, including the Florida Intrastate Highway System established pursuant to s. 338.001. In determining the number of lanes for any regional corridor or section of highway on the State Highway System to be funded by the department with state or federal funds, the department shall evaluate all alternatives and seek to achieve the highest degree of efficient mobility for corridor users. In conducting the analysis, the department must give consideration to the following factors consistent with sound engineering principles:

This subsection does not preclude a number of lanes in excess of 10 lanes, but an additional factor that must be considered before the department may determine that the number of lanes should be more than 10 is the capacity to accommodate in the future alternative forms of transportation within existing or potential rights-of-way.

Notwithstanding any general law or special act, regulations of any county, municipality, or special district, including any instrumentality thereof, shall not apply to existing or future transportation facilities, or appurtenances thereto, on the State Highway System.

The jurisdiction of public roads and the responsibility for operation and maintenance within the right-of-way of any road within the state, county, and municipal road system shall be that which existed on June 10, 1995.

Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any change of the jurisdiction of a public road subsequent to July 1, 1995, shall be governed by the provisions set out herein.

Public roads may be transferred between jurisdictions only by mutual agreement of the affected governmental entities.

Decisions to transfer public roads to or from the State Highway System which occur after July 1, 1995, shall be based upon the consideration of criteria including but not limited to the following:

In order to take effect, all transfers of public roads to or from the State Highway System must be by mutual agreement of the affected governmental entities and approved by the secretary of the Department of Transportation.

The Department of Transportation may enter into contracts with counties and municipalities to perform routine maintenance work on the State Highway System within the appropriate boundaries.

Each county or municipality which completes the work described in subsection (1) shall be relieved from any tort liability arising after completion of such work if the completed project conforms to the standards of the contract as agreed to by the department.

Each county or municipality shall be entitled to receive payment or reimbursement from the department, in accordance with the contract, if the work is completed to the standards of the contract as agreed to by the department.

Nothing contained in this section shall impair, suspend, contract, enlarge, extend, or affect in any manner the powers and duties of the department.

The department shall establish construction standards and a uniform system of signing for bicycle and pedestrian ways.

The department, in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Protection, shall establish a statewide integrated system of bicycle and pedestrian ways in such a manner as to take full advantage of any such ways which are maintained by any governmental entity. For the purposes of this section, bicycle facilities may be established as part of or separate from the actual roadway and may utilize existing road rights-of-way or other rights-of-way or easements acquired for public use.

There is established in the Department of Transportation the Safe Paths to Schools Program to consider the planning and construction of bicycle and pedestrian ways to provide safe transportation for children from neighborhoods to schools, parks, and the state’s greenways and trails system.

As a part of the Safe Paths to Schools Program, the department may establish a grant program to fund local, regional, and state bicycle and pedestrian projects that support the program.

The department may adopt appropriate rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 for the administration of the Safe Paths to Schools Program.

The purposes of the Conserve by Bicycle Program are to:

In order to help accomplish these goals, the department shall conduct a Conserve by Bicycle study, which shall include a determination of the following:

The study shall produce measurable criteria that can be used by the department to determine where and under what circumstances the construction of bicycling facilities will reduce energy consumption and the need for and cost of roadway capacity, as well as realizing the associated health benefits.

The department shall conduct the study with the assistance of the State Pedestrian/Bicycle Coordinator, metropolitan planning organizations, the Office of Greenways and Trails within the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of Health.

By July 1, 2007, if sufficient funds are available in the department’s budget or from the Federal Government, the study shall be completed and shall be submitted to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Environmental Protection, and the State Surgeon General.

The department shall adopt a sufficiency rating system for roads on the State Highway System.

Such system shall include, but shall not be limited to, the consideration of the following factors:

The determination of rating, at a minimum, shall take into consideration the volume of traffic using the roads and the minimum engineering standards required to safely accommodate such volume of traffic; the age of the roads; the width of pavement and shoulders; the number and degree of curves, both horizontal and vertical; ridability; and maintenance economy.

Those bridges having an opening measured along the center of the roadway of more than 20 feet between undercopings of abutments or spring lines of arches or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes and those bridges consisting of multiple pipes where the clear distance between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening are subject to inspection in accordance with the provisions of this section.

At regular intervals not to exceed 2 years, each bridge on a public transportation facility shall be inspected for structural soundness and safety for the passage of traffic on such bridge. The thoroughness with which bridges are to be inspected shall depend on such factors as age, traffic characteristics, state of maintenance, and known deficiencies. The governmental entity having maintenance responsibility for any such bridge shall be responsible for having inspections performed and reports prepared in accordance with the provisions contained herein.

The department is authorized to number and renumber the roads of the State Highway System and to advise the counties and municipalities on the numbering of the roads in their respective road systems.

The department may establish a systematic numbering plan, giving even numbers to roads extending in the general direction of east and west, and odd numbers to roads extending in the general direction of north and south.

The head of the department, in cooperation with the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., is authorized to designate certain roads in this state as Blue Star Memorial highways in honor of those individuals who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces of the United States.

It is the duty of the executive board of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., to submit to the head of the department routes on certain roads in the state for designation as Blue Star Memorial highways. Upon designation of a route as a “Blue Star Memorial Highway,” any member club of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., may, with the advice, cooperation, and approval of the department, erect suitable markers and beautify such memorial highway.

The department shall file with the Department of State a record of such roads so designated as Blue Star Memorial highways.

The following terms, when used in this section, have the meanings ascribed herein:

The Everglades Parkway is designated and declared to be an official scenic highway of the state. No advertising sign shall be erected or maintained within 500 feet of either side of the right-of-way of the parkway situate between the easternmost and westernmost tollgates, with the following exceptions:

Wherever the provisions of this section are inconsistent with the provisions of chapter 479, the provisions of this section shall prevail except when otherwise specifically provided in this section.

The Department of Transportation may, after consultation with other state agencies and local governments, designate public roads as scenic highways. Public roads designated as scenic highways are intended to preserve, maintain, and protect a part of Florida’s cultural, historical, and scenic routes for vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian travel.

The department may by rule adopt appropriate criteria for the designation of scenic highways and may specify appropriate planning and design standards including corridor management plans on such scenic highways.

The designation of scenic highways by the department and the criteria adopted by the department for the designation of scenic highways are not intended to affect or limit existing or customary uses in commercial or industrial areas that are adjacent to designated scenic highways nor is designation intended to limit the ability of local government entities to control or limit land uses in commercial or industrial areas within their jurisdictions. This subsection shall take effect on July 1, 1996.

The department shall prescribe regulations for vehicles operating on the State Highway System. At least 14 days prior to implementation of such regulations, notice of such regulations shall be provided in writing by certified mail, return receipt requested, to each local governmental entity where such regulations will be applicable.

The department shall prohibit any use of, and any traffic on, the State Highway System that might damage or destroy the same.

Any person is civilly liable to the department for the actual damage to a road under the department’s jurisdiction by reason of his or her wrongful act; such damage may be recovered by suit and, when collected, shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit of the State Transportation Trust Fund or other appropriate department trust fund if the damage occurred to the turnpike system.

All traffic control devices installed on any road on the State Highway System or State Park Road System shall conform to the uniform system of traffic control devices adopted pursuant to s. 316.0745. No such device shall be installed on the State Highway System without the approval of the department and, if the road is a federal-aid road, the additional concurrence of the Federal Highway Administration. Any such device that is installed without such approval may be removed without payment to the owner if, upon request by the department, the owner refuses to remove such device.

Computerized traffic systems and control devices which are used solely for the purpose of motor vehicle traffic control and surveillance shall be exempted from the provisions of chapter 282.

The department is authorized to regulate the speed limits of railroad traffic on a municipal, county, regional, or statewide basis. Such speed limits shall be established by order of the department, which order is subject to the provisions of chapter 120. The department shall have the authority to adopt reasonable rules to carry out the provisions of this subsection. Such rules shall, at a minimum, provide for public input prior to the issuance of any such order.

Jurisdiction to enforce such orders shall be as provided in s. 316.640, and any penalty for violation thereof shall be imposed upon the railroad company guilty of such violation. Nothing herein shall prevent a local governmental entity from enacting ordinances relating to the blocking of streets by railroad engines and cars.

Any local governmental entity or other public or private agency planning a public event, such as a parade or race, that involves the crossing of a railroad track shall notify the railroad as far in advance of the event as possible and in no case less than 72 hours in advance of the event so that the coordination of the crossing may be arranged by the agency and railroad to assure the safety of the railroad trains and the participants in the event.

Whenever any road or structure on the State Highway System is repaired, reconstructed, relocated, or otherwise altered in such a manner as necessitates the closing of such road or structure to use by the public, the department shall provide a detour road to afford a safe means of travel around such road or structure so closed. The department may use any other existing road as a part of such detour road. However, the department shall give prior notice to the local governmental entity within which any such alternate road is located. The length of the detour route shall be as short as is practicable.

Subsection (1) shall not be construed to prevent the department from adopting rules for one-way travel for a distance not in excess of 1 mile.

This section is applicable in every case, whether the work provided for in subsection (1) is done by the department or at its direction or under its supervision.

Whenever a temporary detour is necessary to bypass a bridge on the State Highway System due to accident, unforeseen failure of equipment, or emergency traffic stoppage and the only available detour is over a toll facility, the department is authorized to pay to the appropriate authority the tolls that would normally have been collected.

Whenever any road on the State Highway System is repaired, reconstructed, or otherwise altered in a manner that necessitates the closing of one or more traveling lanes of the road for a period of time exceeding 2 hours, the party performing such work shall give notice to the appropriate local law enforcement agency within whose jurisdiction such road is located prior to commencing work on the project. However, when the closing of one or more lanes is required because of emergency conditions, such notice shall be waived.

The department is authorized to expend state funds, as designated, for the establishment of, the acquisition of rights-of-way for, the construction of, the reconstruction of, and the maintenance of wayside parks, boat ramps and other park facilities on and near the edge of public waters or along the State Highway System, and access roads which extend from a state road to such facilities which are contiguous to the state road. Any rights-of-way needed may be acquired by gift, exchange, or purchase, but not by condemnation.

Such access roads leading to public waters, as described in subsection (1), shall be included in the appropriate public road system as determined by the department.

The department shall use and require the use of Florida-friendly landscaping practices, as defined in s. 373.185, in the construction and maintenance of all new state highways, wayside parks, access roads, welcome stations, and other state highway rights-of-way constructed upon or acquired after June 30, 2009. The department shall develop a 5-year program for phasing in the use of Florida-friendly landscaping, including the use of solid waste compost, in state highway rights-of-way constructed upon or acquired before July 1, 2009. In accomplishing these tasks, the department shall employ the standards set out in s. 373.185.

The department shall make use of noise-control methods in the construction of all new state highways, with particular emphasis on those highways located in or near urban-residential developments which abut such highway rights-of-way.

All highway projects by the department, regardless of funding source, shall be developed in conformity with federal standards for noise abatement as contained in 23 C.F.R. 772 as such regulations existed on March 1, 1989. The department shall, at a minimum, comply with federal requirements in the following areas:

The department shall, when feasible, expend the maximum amount of federal funds provided for new highway construction for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section.

It is the finding of the Legislature that:

It is the policy of the Legislature that:

The Legislature further declares that it is the purpose of this act to provide a coordinated planning process for the permitting of access points on the State Highway System to effectuate the findings and policy of this act.

Nothing in this act shall affect the right to full compensation under s. 6, Art. X of the State Constitution.

Nothing in this act limits the power of eminent domain vested in the department pursuant to s. 337.27.

This act does not create any additional property rights. The denial of reasonable direct access to an abutting state highway pursuant to s. 335.184 is not compensable under the provisions of this act unless the denial would be otherwise compensable absent the provisions of this act. The denial in and of itself of an access permit by the Department of Transportation shall not be the only substantive allegation in support of a petition to state a cause of action pursuant to s. 6, Art. X of the State Constitution.

Nothing in this act prohibits the construction of service roads along a highway on the State Highway System so long as such service roads provide reasonable access to such highway. A property owner whose land abuts a service road is entitled to reasonable access to such service road pursuant to s. 335.184. However, nothing in this act requires that a property owner whose land abuts a service road be given direct access across the service road to the state highway served thereby.

Vehicular access and connections to or from the State Highway System shall be regulated by the department in accordance with the provisions of this act in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.

The department shall adopt, by rule, administrative procedures for its issuance and modification of access permits, closing of unpermitted connections, and revocation of permits in accordance with this act.

As used in this act, the term:

A connection may not be constructed or substantially altered without obtaining an access permit in accordance with this act in advance of such action. The department has the authority to restrict or deny access to the State Highway System, in accordance with the provisions of this act, at the location specified in the permit until the permittee constructs or alters the connection in accordance with the permit requirements.

The cost of construction or alteration of a connection shall be borne by the permittee, except for alterations which are not required by law, but are made at the request of and for the convenience of the department. The permittee, however, shall bear the cost of alteration of any connection which is required by the department due to increased or altered traffic flows generated by changes in the facilities or nature of business conducted at the location specified in the permit, if the department establishes the need for such alteration.

Except as otherwise provided in this act, an unpermitted connection is subject to closure by the department which shall have the right to install barriers across or remove the connection. When the department determines that a connection is unpermitted and subject to closure, it shall provide reasonable notice of its impending action to the owner of property served by the connection. The department’s procedures for providing notice and preventing the operation of unpermitted connections shall be adopted by rule.

The department may initiate injunctive proceedings as provided in s. 120.69 to enforce the provisions of this section or any rule or order issued or entered pursuant thereto.

Any person seeking an access permit shall file an application with the department in the district in which the property for which the permit being requested is located. The department, by rule, shall establish application form and content requirements. The fee as required by s. 335.183 must accompany the application.

All permit applications shall be reviewed in conformity with s. 120.60.

A property owner shall be granted a permit for an access connection to the abutting state highway, unless the permitting of such access connection would jeopardize the safety of the public or have a negative impact upon the operational characteristics of the highway. Such access connection and permitted turning movements shall be based upon standards and criteria adopted, by rule, by the department.

Nothing in this subsection limits the department’s authority to restrict the operational characteristics of a particular means of access.

The department may issue a permit subject to any reasonable conditions necessary to carry out the provisions of this act. The department may revoke a permit if the applicant fails to comply with the conditions upon which the issuance of the permit was predicated.

All permits issued pursuant to this act shall automatically expire and become invalid if the connection is not constructed within 1 year after the issuance of the permit, unless the department extends the date of expiration, for good cause, upon its own initiative or upon the request of a permittee.

Unpermitted connections to the State Highway System in existence on July 1, 1988, which have been in continuous use for a period of 1 year or more shall not require the issuance of a permit and may continue to provide access to the State Highway System. However, the department may require that a permit be obtained for such a connection if a significant change occurs in the use, design, or traffic flow of the connection. If a permit is not obtained, the connection may be closed pursuant to s. 335.1825(3).

Access permits in effect on July 1, 1988, shall remain valid until modified or revoked. The department may, after written notification and a hearing, as provided for in s. 120.60, modify or revoke an access permit granted prior to July 1, 1988, by requiring relocation, alteration, or closure of the connection if a significant change occurs in the use, design, or traffic flow of the connection.

The department may issue a nonconforming access permit after finding that to deny an access permit would leave the property without a reasonable means of access to the State Highway System. The department may specify limits on the maximum vehicular use of the connection and may be conditioned on the availability of future alternative means of access for which access permits can be obtained.

After written notice and the opportunity for a hearing, as provided for in s. 120.60, the department may modify or revoke an access permit issued after July 1, 1988, by requiring relocation, alteration, or closure of an existing connection if a significant change occurs in the use, design, or traffic flow of the connection.

A means of reasonable access to an abutting state highway may not be denied to a property owner, except on the basis of safety or operational concerns as provided in s. 335.184.

The department shall develop, adopt, and maintain an access control classification system for all routes on the State Highway System, the purpose of which shall be to provide for the implementation and continuing application of the provisions of this act.

The principal component of the access control classification system shall be access management standards, the purpose of which shall be to provide specific standards and criteria to be adhered to in the planning for and approval of access to roads on the State Highway System.

The control classification system shall be developed consistent with the following: