(1) Legal reference. Section 61, chapter 220, Laws of 1949 provides in part as follows: "...; and all such streets including curbs and gutters and street intersections and such bridges and wharves shall be constructed and maintained by the director from any state funds available therefor.
"The jurisdiction control and duty of the state and city and town with respect to said streets shall be as follows:
"(a)...
"(b) The city and town shall exercise full responsibility for and control over any such street beyond the curbs, and if no curb is installed beyond the portion used for highway purposes."
(2) The problem. The construction of partially and fully controlled limited access freeways or similarly designed state highways through cities and towns is becoming more frequent. The construction of cloverleaf and other types of interchanges makes it difficult to determine exactly which features of the interchange constitute the "street intersection" for which responsibility is established by law.
(3) The policy. After the access plan for any partial, or fully controlled limited access highway has been approved by a city or town, the state and city authorities shall negotiate an agreement establishing responsibility for construction and maintenance of the various features of each interchange. To illustrate the basic principles of these responsibilities and to serve as a guide in such negotiations, the attached sketches of typical intersections and interchanges are hereby made a part of this policy. The scope of this policy does not include the roadside areas enclosed in the loops or ramps of an interchange or the slopes of cuts and fills, responsibility for which is more clearly defined by statute.
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normal intersection existing state highway state maintenance obligation shown in green Figure 1 |
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existing city street crossed by new state highway underpass city maintenance obligation shown in red Figure 2 |
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existing city street crossed by new state highway overpass city maintenance obligation shown in red Figure 3 |
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existing city street crossed at grade by new state highway state maintenance obligation shown in green Figure 4 |
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channelized intersection new state highway state maintenance obligation shown in green Figure 5 |
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typical limited access highway city maintenance obligation shown in red state maintenance obligation shown in green Figure 6 |
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typical limited access highway utilizing city streets as "on" and "off" ramps city maintenance obligation shown in red state maintenance obligation shown in green Figure 7 |
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depressed limited access highway located between city streets city maintenance obligation shown in red state maintenance obligation shown in green Figure 8 |
On April 30, 1997, the department of transportation and the Association of Washington Cities approved guidelines on the interpretation of selected topics of chapter 47.24 RCW and the above figures for the construction, operation and maintenance responsibilities of the department and cities for city streets that are part of state highways. These guidelines are general in nature and do not preclude the department and individual cities from entering into agreements to address particular circumstances.