Sec 28-304. Powers and duties of the board; transportation facilities

A. The board shall:

1. Develop and adopt a statewide transportation policy statement. The policy statement shall be adopted as described in section 28-306.

2. Adopt a long-range statewide transportation plan. The plan shall be adopted as described in section 28-307.

3. Adopt uniform transportation planning practices and performance based planning processes for use by the department. The practices and processes shall be developed as described in sections 28-502 and 28-503.

4. Adopt transportation system performance measures and factors and data collection standards to be used by the department. The performance measures, factors and standards shall be developed as described in sections 28-504 and 28-505.

B. With respect to highways, the board shall:

1. Establish a complete system of state highway routes.

2. Determine which state highway routes or portions of the routes are accepted into the state highway system and which state highway routes to improve.

3. Establish, open, relocate or alter a portion of a state route or state highway.

4. Vacate or abandon a portion of a state route or state highway as prescribed in section 28-7209.

5. Sell board funding obligations to the state treasurer as provided in section 28-7678.

C. The board shall:

1. Establish policies to guide the development or modification of the five year transportation facilities construction program that are consistent with the principles of performance based planning developed pursuant to article 7 of this chapter. The percentage of department discretionary monies allocated to the region in the regional transportation plan approved pursuant to chapter 17, article 1 of this title shall not increase or decrease unless the board, in cooperation with the regional planning agency, agrees to change the percentage of the discretionary monies.

2. Award all construction contracts for transportation facilities.

3. Monitor the status of these construction projects.

D. Consistent with the board's responsibilities, the board shall:

1. Consider the citizens transportation oversight committee's recommendations on the five year construction program for the regional transportation plan pursuant to chapter 17 of this title.

2. Respond to any complaint and approve, disapprove or modify recommendations regarding a complaint forwarded to it by the citizens transportation oversight committee within ninety days after the citizens transportation oversight committee forwards a complaint to the board.

E. The board shall determine priority program planning with respect to transportation facilities using the performance based methods developed pursuant to article 7 of this chapter.

F. With respect to transportation facilities other than highways, the board shall establish, open, relocate, alter, vacate or abandon all or portions of the facilities.

G. With respect to aeronautics, the board shall perform the functions prescribed in chapter 25 of this title.

H. The board shall not spend any monies, adopt any rules or implement any policies or programs to convert signs to the metric system or to require the use of the metric system with respect to designing or preparing plans, specifications, estimates or other documents for any highway project before the conversion or use is required by federal law, except that the board may:

1. Spend monies and require the use of the metric system with respect to designing or preparing plans, specifications, estimates or other documents for a highway project that is awarded before October 1, 1997 and that is exclusively metric from its inception.

2. Prepare for conversion to and use of the metric system not more than six months before the conversion or use is required by federal law.