County Highway System

Attorney General Opinion

2003 OK AG 10
Definition of "public road" under the jurisdiction of County Commissioners. 
  1. Section lines opened and maintained. (Title 69 § 1201)
  2. Roads established by the Board of County Commissioners. (Title 69 § 646)
  3. Roads acquired by owner dedicating for public use, Common Law Dedication
  4. Roads part of new plans approved by the Board of County Commissioners. (Title 69 § 601.1)
  5. Roads acquired by prescription through exclusive, continuous and adverse use of the road by the public for a 15-year period.  (Title 12 § 93; Statute of Limitations on Real Property)

Statutory Right-of-Way Widths

The Oklahoma Constitution accepted R/W widths for county roads as defined under Tribal Treaties and Congress actions governing the Oklahoma Territory .  Oklahoma has statutory R/W widths of 0', 33', 49.5' and 66'.  There are other widths based off road sections removed from the State Highway System and given to counties, adverse possession (fence to fence widths) and new roadway construction where additional R/W was acquired.
The County Highway System is a significant link in Oklahoma's Transportation System comprising of 75% of Oklahoma's road miles and over 60% of its' bridges.  This System includes 4,911 city street miles within 521 communities but it is vital in being able to transport agriculture/livestock to market and move/access natural resources such as rock, gravel, sand, logs, oil and gas.  These are industries that provide jobs in the larger cities.  Another energy related commodity, wind, has turbines scattered across the state that are also accessed by these roads.  Part of this system, that surrounds metropolitan areas,  experiences high traffic volumes connecting schools, housing subdivisions, and businesses. 

Roads

Certified County Highway miles: Updated yearly by ODOT and provided to Oklahoma Tax Commission to be used in statutory formulas to apportion state taxes on gasoline, diesel, and motor vehicle collections to the County Highway Fund.  Title 69 § 316
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Certified Mileage May 4, 2020
Historical Certifications
ODOT County Certification map
ODOT County Certification Dashboard
Rural Functional Classification
Rural Function Classification maps (shows Major, Minor and Local roads)

Costs

The 77 Boards of County Commissioners have the responsibility of maintaining  approximately 83,000 miles and 14,000 bridges in a safe, cost effective manner for the Oklahoma taxpayer.  Unfortunately, costs for equipment, fuel, materials and labor out pace the tax revenue coming into their maintenance funds.  Preventive maintenance on roads and bridges provide the best "value" to the taxpayer by extending the "life/condition" of a road or bridge.  Average costs are shown below.
  • $100,000 per mile for asphalt overlays (2").
  • $15,000 to $20,000 per mile for gravel (4") but dependent on hauling distance from a rock quarry.
  • $250,000 minimum cost for a new road grader.
  • $120,000 minimum cost for a new dump truck.
  • $450,000 minimum cost to replace a short single span bridge by a contractor.
  • $1,000,000 minimum cost to grade, drain and surface one roadway mile by a contractor.

County Commissioner Districts

There are 231 County Commissioners in Oklahoma, 3 elected by a voting district per county.   Usually the roads and bridges within these district boundaries are the responsibility of a County Commissioner including streets where the city population is under 2,500.  There are three counties, Payne, Noble and Comanche, that have only 2 "road" districts.  The other commissioner has a voting district, but it is within a municipality that has streets and bridges not the responsibility of the county.

Bridges

A bridge is defined as a structure with an opening 20' or longer and may include sites that have multiple pipes across a stream.  The pipes must be  spaced less than half the diameter of pipes and the total, pipe opening and spacing must be at least 20'.   
Code of Federal Regulations, CFR Title 23 § 650.403

National Bridge Inspection Standards (NBIS) defines the inspection and evaluation of all highway bridges located on public roads, 
CFR Title 23 § 650.301.  The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires ODOT to yearly report the bridge conditions on all structures, regardless of ownership.

Map of county bridges (city bridges not included) click here.
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ODOT yearly Bridge Summary Reports for County Bridges:
​2019  2018  2017  2016  2015