Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 630

HOUSE SUBSTITUTE NO. 1

FOR

HOUSE BILL NO. 1105

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 5, TITLE 17, DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO DEDICATION OF NEW ROAD TO THE PUBLIC; APPROVAL REQUIRED; BOND; PENALTIES.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:

Section 1. Amend §508, Chapter 5, Title 17, Delaware Code by striking said Section in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new §508 to read as follows:

§508. Dedication of new roads to the public; approval required; bond; penalties.

(a) No person, firm or corporation shall construct or cause to be constructed any new road or street outside the corporate limits of any city or town and intended to be dedicated by the owner thereof to the public use and which new road or street is or will be a continuation of or does or will connect with or intersect any existing public road or roads now or hereafter designed to be part of the general highway system of the State except in conformity with plans and specifications approved by the Department, and to include the initial installation of traffic and street name signs.

(b) Before commencement of any construction, including installation of utilities within the dedicated right of way, the owner and the person actually engaged in such construction shall first post with the Department a good and sufficient bond to the State in such amount as may be fixed, but not to exceed 10 percent of such construction,

and with surety or sureties to be approved by the Department, which bond shall be conditioned on the faithful performance and satisfactory completion of the obligations imposed by subsection (a) of this Section, provided owner and the person actually engaged in such construction have not been previously adjudged to be in violation of the provisions of this Section and have maintained a good record of compliance on repair and construction completion. In the event owner or person actually engaged in such construction has been previously adjudged to be in violation of the provisions of this Section and has not maintained a good record of compliance on repair and construction completion, then the bond amount which the Department may fix may exceed 10 percent of such construction but shall not exceed 100 percent of such construction.

(c) The Department shall inspect periodically any new road or street being so constructed and, upon the apparent satisfactory completion of such construction in conformity with its approved plans and specifications, the Department shall so notify the owner of the new road or street and, upon dedication by the owner of the road or street to the public use, the Department shall thereafter assume the sole and absolute care, management and control of the new road or street as a public road or street, such care to include the replacement of all signs listed in subsection (a) of this Section.

(d) The Department shall make and publish rules, regulations, and specifications for construction work, including specifications for the initial installation of all signs, in conformity with this Section and shall periodically revise these rules, regulations and specifications in order to keep current with any new and available knowledge.

(e) Whoever violated this Section shall be fined not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00).

(f) Any person, firm or corporation who is penalized by subsection (e) shall thereafter be unable to conduct business in the State until all conditions created by such person, firm or corporation for which such penalty was imposed have been corrected to the satisfaction of the Department."

Approved July 22, 1976