§ 3. Classification of highways. Highways are hereby divided into five
classes.

1. State highways are those constructed or improved under this chapter
at the sole expense of the state, including the highways specified and
described in sections three hundred and forty and three hundred and
forty-one of this chapter and acts amendatory thereof, including the
highways heretofore classified or referred to as county highways
elsewhere in this chapter and heretofore constructed or improved at the
joint expense of state, county and town, or state and county as
heretofore provided by law.

2. Controlled access highways are those state highways which are
entirely or partly constructed, reconstructed or improved at a location
where no public highway theretofore existed and to and from which the
owners or occupants of abutting property or of any other persons shall
have no right of access either as pedestrians, as operators of vehicles
or in any other capacity, excepting at junctions of such highways with
other public highways, and also excepting as such access may be reserved
pursuant to the description and map of the property which has been or
which hereafter shall be acquired in accordance with this chapter for
the purpose of such controlled access highways.

3. State thruways are those highways specified and described in
section three hundred forty-nine-a of this chapter, constructed,
improved or reconstructed as provided in such section.

4. County roads are those roads constructed, improved, maintained and
repaired under article six of this chapter and roads constructed or
improved under a general or special law, which are maintained by the
county.

5. Town highways are those constructed, improved or maintained by the
town with the aid of the state or county, under the provisions of this
chapter, including all highways in towns, outside of incorporated
villages constituting separate road districts which do not belong to
either of the two preceding classes.