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2018 Georgia Code 32-6-197 | Car Wreck Lawyer

Link to State of Georgia Official Statute 2018 Georgia Code Annotated (sourced from legal.resource.org)
O.C.G.A. 32-6-197 Case Law from Google Scholar Amendments to OCGA 32-6-197

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).

Cases Citing O.C.G.A. § 32-6-197

Total Results: 2  |  Sort by: Relevance  |  Newest First

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Fortner v. Town of Register, 604 S.E.2d 175 (Ga. 2004).

Cited 21 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Oct 12, 2004 | 278 Ga. 625

...y, state and local governments can require railroads to install protective devices, and railroads must maintain all such devices. OCGA § 32-6-200(a), (b)(3). Our actual holding in Kitchen, supra at 208(1), 453 S.E.2d 712, was that, pursuant to OCGA § 32-6-197(b), the GCPT obliged the governmental body, but not the railroad, to maintain a public road and any warning devices thereon leading to a bridge over railroad tracks....
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Kitchen v. CSX Transp., Inc., 265 Ga. 206 (Ga. 1995).

Cited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Georgia | Feb 27, 1995 | 453 S.E.2d 712

...§ 94-503 placed an absolute duty on railroads to maintain in good order all *208 public roads and embankments over railroad tracks. [5] See Southern R. Co. v. Brooks, 112 Ga. App. 324 (1) (145 SE2d 76) (1965). The GCPT redelegated these obligations to local and state government. OCGA § 32-6-197 (b) provides: 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....