§ 340-d. Construction, improvement and maintenance of state
expressways. 1. The expressways set forth and described in section three
hundred forty-c of the highway law shall be constructed or improved
according to such designs and types as determined by the commissioner of
transportation, subject to the provisions of federal aid therefor. Each
state expressway shall ultimately provide for not less than two lanes of
traffic in each direction. Opposing traffic on every completed state
expressway shall ultimately be separated by a mall generally or the
commissioner of transportation may separate such opposing traffic by
such other alignment of respective lanes of traffic which, in his
judgment, is practicable, because of topographic conditions and is
beneficial to the public interest. Access from one traffic direction to
the other shall be provided only at such points and in such manner as
the commissioner of transportation shall determine. Any state highway,
or portion thereof may be utilized and become a part of any state
expressway when authorized by the commissioner of transportation.
Access or branch connections from any such state expressway or section
thereof to any highway, road or street shall, in the discretion of the
commissioner of transportation, be included in the plans, specifications
and estimates and shall be constructed according to such design and type
as the commissioner of transportation shall deem to be suitable for the
purpose thereof. For any portion or section of a state expressway
authorized within the corporate limits of a city, provision shall be
made for access thereto from existing streets at points designated by
the commissioner of transportation. The commissioner of transportation
may set monuments on the boundaries of such state expressway, and he may
cause fences to be erected along or adjacent to such boundaries, and he
is authorized to install suitable lighting, directional and protective
facilities, devices and appurtenances, if he deems it necessary in the
interest of public safety. The maintenance and repair of state
expressways shall include the control of snow and ice and shall be done
by forces of the department of transportation or by such other method or
methods as determined by the commissioner, under his direct supervision
and control and any inconsistent provisions of this chapter are
superseded insofar as they conflict with this provision. The cost of
such maintenance and repair shall be borne wholly by the state and be
paid for from moneys appropriated therefor by the legislature.

2. The commissioner of transportation is authorized to classify any
part of a state expressway as a controlled access highway pursuant to
this chapter. Highway crossings at grade and railroad grade crossings
shall be eliminated generally by structures to be determined by the
commissioner of transportation, who is hereby given authority to
combine, connect, alter, reconstruct, terminate or relocate intersecting
highways, streets, or roads to adjust traffic to such grade separation
structures, or any portion of a state expressway or connection. In the
discretion of the commissioner of transportation, a structure may be
constructed to eliminate an existing crossing at grade of a railroad and
a highway which intersects or closely parallels a state expressway. The
entire cost of structures constructed pursuant to this paragraph as so
determined by the commissioner of transportation shall be included in
the cost of the state expressway. Structures constructed pursuant to
this paragraph shall be maintained and repaired by the state. Highways
combined, connected, altered, reconstructed, relocated or carried over
or under a state expressway section or connection, under the provisions
of this paragraph, shall, upon completion of the work, revert to and
become the responsibility with regard to maintenance and repair, of the
state, municipality, authority, commission or other public agency, as
the case may be, having jurisdiction thereover immediately prior to the
commencement of such work.

3. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this chapter or any
other law, general or special, any and all property which the
commissioner of transportation deems necessary for the construction,
reconstruction and maintenance of state expressways and bridges thereon
shall be acquired and disposed of pursuant to the provisions of any
section or sections of this chapter applicable to the acquisition of
land or rights and interests therein, and for the settlement of claims
for damage resulting from the work of constructing, reconstructing and
maintaining such state expressways. The commissioner of transportation,
for the people of the state of New York, shall acquire pursuant to the
aforesaid procedures any property or interest therein, necessary for any
and all purposes connected with the construction, reconstruction and
maintenance of the state expressways, including the appropriation of
property for drains, ditches, spoil banks, gravel pits, stone quarries,
storehouses and repair shops; also for the removal of obstructions,
improvement of sight distance; also for appropriation of property for
the reconstruction of existing highway-railroad separation structures
upon incorporation into a state expressway of an existing highway or
portion thereof of which they form a part, and for the separation of
state expressway-railroad grades on newly laid-out state expressways;
and for other purposes to improve safety conditions on the state
expressways. The term "property" as used in this section is defined to
include lands, waters, rights in lands or waters, structures, franchises
and interests in land, including lands under water and riparian rights,
and any and all other things and rights usually included within the said
term and includes also any and all interests in such property less than
full title, such as easements permanent or temporary, rights-of-way,
uses, leases, licenses and all other incorporeal hereditaments and every
estate, interest or right legal or equitable.

4. If moneys of the federal government are or may reasonably be
expected to be available therefor, under federal aid highway acts, the
commissioner of transportation is authorized to use such moneys or so
much thereof as he may determine to accept, together with other
available moneys, for (a) the construction and reconstruction of state
expressways designated and described in section three hundred forty-c of
this chapter, and (b) the construction, reconstruction, alteration or
repair, pursuant to the provisions of section two hundred thirty of this
chapter, of bridges and culverts on the state expressways. No city shall
be required to participate in the costs of a state expressway project,
except for those costs which are incurred under any special cooperative
agreement between a city and the state.

5. All the provisions of this chapter relating to state highways and
state arterial highways shall apply to the construction or improvement
and the control or maintenance of state expressways in the same manner
as though they were designated as state highways or arterial highways.

6. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this chapter or any
other law, general or special, the commissioner of transportation and
the appropriate authorities of any county, town or village shall, prior
to the construction of any section of an expressway constructed or
improved pursuant to this section, enter into an agreement respecting
the abandonment to such county, town or village of any portion of an
existing state highway located therein and no longer needed by or useful
to the state upon the completion and acceptance of any section of such
expressway.