Section 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.