3.__Capital improvement.__"Capital improvement" means the creation of, addition to or restoration of structural or functional capacity of a structure.__"Capital improvement" includes construction of new structures, replacement of existing structures, removal of closed structures and rehabilitation of existing structures.__Rehabilitation differs from maintenance in that it makes comprehensive structural or functional improvements that impact serviceability for at least 20 years, whereas similar maintenance is restricted to repairs to individual members of a structure or isolated areas of a structure.__"Capital improvement" includes the cost of property acquisition, permitting, design, construction, traffic control, supervision and administration and all related costs.

4.__Capital responsibility.__"Capital responsibility" means the responsibility to provide all resources needed to make capital improvement to a structure.

5.__Culvert.__"Culvert" means any pipe or other structure that has a span of less than 10 feet or multiple pipes or other structures with a combined opening of less than 80 square feet in area.

6.__Detour length.__"Detour length" means the shortest distance measured along a public way from one abutment of a bridge to the other abutment that would result if the bridge were closed.

7.__Federal Highway Administration.__"Federal Highway Administration" or "FHWA" means an agency of the United States Department of Transportation.

8.__Low use bridge.__"Low use bridge" means a bridge with an AADT of under 100 motor vehicles.

9.__Maintenance.__"Maintenance" means the work necessary to preserve a structure's existing structural or functional capacity and integrity and to abate deterioration of its components.__ Maintenance is not intended to increase or fully restore

structural or functional capacity.__Maintenance is performed to ensure safety of a user of the structure or the structure in response to vehicular accident damage, flood damage of ice damage or unanticipated component failure.__Maintenance normally is scheduled for routine operations or to address limited deficiencies found in periodic inspections.

10.__Maintenance responsibility.__"Maintenance responsibility" means the responsibility to provide all resources needed to perform maintenance on a structure.__"Maintenance responsibility" does not include snow and ice control.

11.__Minor span.__"Minor span" means a structure designed principally to carry motor vehicles that is larger than a culvert but has a span less than that required to be defined as a bridge.

12.__Municipality.__"Municipality" means any unit of municipal government, including towns, cities, plantations and unorganized townships.__"Municipality" includes departments or bureaus of State Government and quasi-independent agencies or boards of State Government that are responsible for structures on public highways, excepting the Maine Turnpike Authority.__In cases of unorganized townships, "municipality" means county.

13.__Property valuation.__"Property valuation" means the value of all taxable property in a municipality based upon 100% of the current market value as determined by the State Tax Assessor.

14.__Redundant bridge.__"Redundant bridge" means a bridge in which the AADT multiplied by the detour length in miles is less than 200.

15.__Structure.__"Structure" means a bridge or minor span.

§653.__Inspection, posting and closure

The department shall inspect all structures.

1.__Municipal-maintained structures.__For a structure for which a municipality has maintenance responsibility, the department shall advise the municipality of its inspection findings, noted deficiencies and recommendations regarding posting or closure.__The municipality has sole responsibility and authority to determine whether a structure must be posted or closed, except that the department may close the structure in cases of emergency or when the department reasonably determines closure is necessary to protect the traveling public from imminent hazard.__If the department becomes aware of deficiencies in a structure that could impact posting or closure decisions,

the department shall promptly notify the municipality.__The municipality is responsible for all costs and expenses related to the posting and closure, including any needed notifications, procedures, signing and barricades.

2.__Department-maintained structures.__For a structure for which the department has maintenance responsibility, the department has sole responsibility and authority to determine whether the structure must be posted or closed, except that a municipality may close the structure in cases of emergency.__If the municipality becomes aware of deficiencies in a structure that could impact posting or closure decisions, the municipality shall promptly notify the department.__The department is responsible for all costs and expenses related to the posting and closure, including any needed notifications, procedures, signing and barricades.

§564.__Minor spans

The department has maintenance responsibility and capital responsibility for all minor spans on state aid highways, unless provided otherwise pursuant to section 566, subsection 5.

A municipality has maintenance responsibility and capital responsibility for all minor spans on town ways except as provided otherwise pursuant to section 566, subsection 5.__For a minor span located on a town line, the municipalities shall equally share capital responsibility unless the municipalities agree otherwise.

Upon request by a municipality, the department shall provide limited technical advice regarding repair and capital improvement options without assuming any cost of or liability to the municipality.

§565.__Bridges

1.__Generally.__The department has maintenance responsibility and capital responsibility for all bridges on state aid highways and town ways except as provided in subsection 2 or unless provided otherwise pursuant to section 566, subsection 5.

2.__Low use or redundant bridges on town ways.__A municipality has maintenance responsibility for all low use bridges on town ways and all redundant bridges on town ways.

For the capital improvement of a low use bridge on a town way or a redundant bridge on a town way located wholly within one municipality, the municipality shall pay 50% of the cost or 1% of

its property valuation, whichever is less.__For a bridge located on a town line, each municipality shall pay 25% of the cost of the capital improvement or 1% of its property valuation, whichever is less, unless the municipalities and the department agree otherwise.__The department shall pay the remaining portion of the cost of the capital improvement.

§566.__Changes affecting responsibilities

1.__Changes to structures.__If a structure is improved in a manner that affects whether it is defined as a minor span or a bridge, the responsibilities set forth in this subchapter regarding the structure do not change unless the department determines that there exists a reasonable engineering basis for the improvement.

2.__New structures.__If a municipality constructs a new bridge on a town way, the department shall assume the responsibilities set forth in the subchapter only if the department determines that there is a reasonable engineering basis for the bridge, as opposed to a minor span, and if the department approves the design and construction of the bridge.

3.__Changes to classification of road.__If the department changes the classification of the road carried by the structure, the responsibilities regarding the structure change in accordance with this subchapter.

4.__Changes to federal definition of bridge.__If FHWA changes its definition of "bridge," the responsibilities change in accordance with this subchapter regarding structures affected by that change.

5.__Special finding by commissioner.__Upon application by a municipality or upon the department's initiative, the commissioner, after notice and opportunity to be heard, may alter responsibilities set forth in this subchapter upon a finding that special and unusual factual circumstances related to the structure or its location justify the alteration.

§567.__Bridge capital improvement priorities

The department shall biennially prepare a list of bridges that are eligible for capital improvement under this subchapter, arranged in priority order using accepted bridge management principles and as constrained by available funding.__The department is the final arbiter as to whether any bridge is placed on the list.__The department shall consult with municipalities regarding the manner of improving low use bridges on town ways and redundant bridges on town ways.

§568.__Emergency improvements

In case of an emergency as determined by the department, the department may perform any maintenance or capital improvement to a structure.

Sec. 3. Retroactivity. This Act applies retroactively to July 1, 2001.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill repeals the current laws governing responsibility for local bridges.

The bill also does the following.

It defines a "bridge" as a structure with a span of more than 20 feet in accordance with federal regulations and defines structures of 20 feet or less as "minor spans."

It places capital and maintenance responsibility for minor spans that are on state aid highways on the Department of Transportation.

It places capital and maintenance responsibility for all minor spans that are on town ways on municipalities.

It places capital responsibility for most bridges on state aid highways and town ways on the Department of Transportation, excepting low use and redundant bridges.

It requires that capital responsibility for low use or redundant bridges on town ways be shared by the Department of Transportation and the municipality on a 50%-50% basis, with a 1% valuation cap for low valuation municipalities.

It eliminates county funding for local bridges, except when acting for unorganized townships.