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O.C.G.A. § 32-6-197 — Responsibility for maintenance of overpasses and underpasses | Georgia Code
O.C.G.A. § 32-6-197 (2018) Copy Cite Official Site Syfertize CourtListener Scholar Amendments

TITLE 32 HIGHWAYS, BRIDGES, AND FERRIES

Section 6. Regulation of Maintenance and Use of Public Roads Generally, 32-6-1 through 32-6-248.

ARTICLE 6 PUBLIC UTILITIES

32-6-197. Responsibility for maintenance of overpasses and underpasses.

  1. It shall be the duty of the department to maintain all overpasses involving railroads on the state highway system.
  2. It shall be the duty of the county or the municipality to maintain at its own expense the drainage, surface, pavement, approaches, and guardrails of all overpasses involving railroads on its respective public road system. It shall be the duty of the railroad involved to maintain at its own expense any floors constructed of wood and the foundations, piers, abutments, and superstructures of all overpasses on the county or municipal public road system.
  3. It shall be the duty of the railroad or railroads involved to maintain all underpasses except the lighting, drainage, and pavement of the public roads thereunder, which shall be maintained by the department, counties, or municipalities on their respective public road systems.
  4. All maintenance required by this Code section of the department shall be at the expense of the department, and all maintenance required by this Code section of the railroad shall be at the expense of such railroad, provided that the duty of maintenance imposed upon the department by this Code section shall not operate to subject the department to liability for damages resulting from any failure to maintain properly.
  5. Except as provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 32-6-195, nothing in this article shall be construed as voiding agreements executed prior to July 1, 1973.

(Ga. L. 1927, p. 299, § 9; Code 1933, § 95-1909; Ga. L. 1950, p. 419, § 1; Code 1933, § 95A-1011, enacted by Ga. L. 1973, p. 947, § 1; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 32.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Traffic control devices.

- Nothing in O.C.G.A. § 32-6-197 places any duty on a railroad regarding the installation or maintenance of traffic control devices in the area around a railroad overpass. City of Fairburn v. Cook, 188 Ga. App. 58, 372 S.E.2d 245, cert. denied, 188 Ga. App. 911, 372 S.E.2d 245 (1988).

Exclusive duty of county to maintain road and warning devices.

- Statutory duty to maintain a public road and warning devices thereon leading to the former site of a timber bridge spanning a railroad track was exclusively that of the county, both at the time the bridge was removed and at the time of the accident giving rise to a negligence action against the railroad. Kitchen v. CSX Transp., Inc., 265 Ga. 206, 453 S.E.2d 712 (1995).

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This Georgia Code resource is curated by Graham W. Syfert, Esq., a personal injury and workers' compensation attorney admitted in Georgia (State Bar of Georgia No. 881027, since 2006) and Florida. For legal consultation, call 904-383-7448.