CHAPTER
201
ROADS |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
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Construction and maintenance of public roads. |
Power to impose restrictions on the use of public
roads. |
Restriction on the discharge of water, etc. into
public roads. |
Private works and excavations. |
Duties of occupiers of adjoining property. |
Restriction on the removal of sand from coastal
areas. |
Penalties for encroachments, etc. |
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Exchange of land required for road diversion. |
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CHAPTER 201 |
ROADS |
An Act to
make provision for the establishment of public roads, for the control and
maintenance of public roads and for other purposes incidental thereto. | 9 of 1968
E.L.A.O., 1974 |
[Commencement: 31st
January, 1968] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Roads Act. | Short title. |
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- | Interpretation. |
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for Roads; |
"occupier"
in relation to land means the person in actual possession thereof, or if there
is no such person, then whoever is entitled to such possession, and in the case
of land of which no person is currently in actual possession the person in whom
the fee simple thereof is vested shall be deemed to be entitled to such
possession unless he proves the contrary; |
"public
road" means a road declared to be a public road under the provisions of
section 5 of this Act; |
"road"
includes a bridge or causeway linked with or forming part thereof. |
3. (1) For the purposes of this Act the public roads of
The Bahamas shall be divided into the following classes- | Classification of roads. |
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(2) The width of
public roads shall include unmade portions, pavements, ditches and verges
thereof and shall be as follows- |
(a) major
roads, not less than forty feet for a single carriageway nor more than one
hundred feet for a dual carriageway; |
(b) minor
roads, not less than thirty feet not more than forty feet: |
Provided that the
Minister may vary the width any particular public road or part thereof, when he
satisfied that it is expedient so to do. |
4. All public roads within The Bahamas shall b under
the charge and control of the Minister who shall have and exercise in respect
thereof the powers and duties conferred by this Act. | Control of roads. |
5. Subject to the provisions of section 13 of this Act,
the Minister may, from time to time, by notice in the Gazette- | Declaration of roads. |
(a) declare any
road to be a public road and may define the course thereof; |
(b) declare
that a public road shall be constructed on land where no public road was
previously in existence, and may define the course thereof; |
(c) classify
any public road as a major road or a minor road, as the case may be, and if the
circumstances require, may reclassify any such road; or |
(d) close or
alter the course of any public road and extinguish the right of the public to
use any part thereof so closed. |
6. (1) The Minister may construct, reconstruct and
extend public roads and it shall be his duty, so far as the funds at his
disposal for the purpose permit, maintain all public roads either from
departmental resources available to him or by the employment of contractors, as
to him may seem expedient. | Construction and maintenance of public roads. |
(2) For the
purpose of any work or repairs the Minister as and when he considers such
action necessary and after consultation with the Commissioner of Police; may
temporarily close, either wholly or partially, any public road or part thereof
or may restrict or regulate traffic on any such road or part thereof. |
7. (1) For the purpose of effecting any repairs or
doing any other work thereon the Minister may by regulations, or by notice axed
in a conspicuous place at the approach of any public road or part thereof,
impose restrictions on the use thereof- | Power to impose restriction on the use of public
roads. |
(a) by
prohibiting the passage of any particular category of vehicle; |
(b) by
prohibiting the passage of any vehicle in excess of any particular weight,
either laden or unladen as may be specified in such regulations or notice; |
(c) by fixing a
maximum speed less than the maximum speed permitted by virtue of the provisions
of the Road Traffic Act and operating conditions
applicable to the use of any vehicle or particular category of vehicle on such
road. |
(2) Any person who
contravenes the requirements of any regulations or notice to which this section
refers shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction
to a fine of seventy-five dollars. |
8. (1) The occupier of any land adjacent to any public
road- | Restriction on the discharge of water, etc., onto
public roads. |
(a) shall take
all reasonable precautions to prevent any abnormal or excessive discharge from
such land, except in accordance with any prescriptive or other legal right or
the terms of any licence given in that behalf by the Minister, of any surplus
water, storm water or any other liquid discharge of any nature whatsoever into
or onto the surface, gutters, drains or subsoil of any public road; and |
(b) shall not
without the prior consent of the Minister and in accordance with any conditions
to which any such consent may be made subject, make or permit the making of any
new building, construction, drain, road, driveway, yard or any impermeable
surface whatsoever which causes or is likely to cause any artificial increase
in the volume of water or other liquid from any source diverted into or onto
the surface, gutters, drains or subsoil of any public road. |
(2) In case of any
contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section the Minister
may serve a notice on the occupier of the land concerned setting out the nature
of the contravention alleged and requiring the occupier to take steps to remedy
the matter to which the notice refers, to the satisfaction of the Minister
within such reasonable time as may be specified therein. |
(3) In case of the
default of any occupier in carrying out any work in accordance with the
requirements of a notice served upon him under the provisions of subsection (2)
of this section, the Minister may authorise any person to enter upon the land
concerned to carry out such work as may be necessary to prevent the continuance
of the contravention alleged and may recover the cost of such work as a civil
debt due from the occupier of the land concerned. |
9. (1) Any person who desires to make any excavation in
or under any public road for any purpose, including the construction of any
drain or water-course under such road or the provision of public utilities to
any premises, shall inform the Minister in writing of the reasons for and the
nature of the proposed work and shall first obtain the consent of the Minister
to the making of such excavation, and shall conform in all respects to any
conditions prescribed by the Minister for carrying out such work. The person
making any such excavation shall be responsible at his own expense for filling
in the same immediately after the completion of the work for which it was
required and for the restoration of the surface of the public road concerned to
the satisfaction of the Minister. Any such person shall also be responsible at
all times until the final restoration of the road for all necessary precautions
to prevent injury, damage or loss to any person by reason of such excavation
and shall be liable for any injury, damage or loss caused thereby. | Private works and excavations. |
(2) Any person who
makes any excavation in any public road without the consent of the Minister as
required by subsection (1) of this section or who fails to fill in and restore
any excavation made with the consent of the Minister, shall be guilty of an
offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of seventy-five
dollars and also to pay to the Minister such reasonable costs of the
restoration of the surface of such public road, if the restoration was carried
out by the Minister, as may be awarded by the court before which such person is
convicted. |
(3) No proceedings
whatsoever shall be brought against the Crown, the Minister or any public
officer or employee of the Government in respect of any personal injury suffered
by any person or any loss or damage caused to any vehicle or other movable
property as a result of the making of any excavation in any public road, or the
restoration and repair of such road thereafter, unless it be proved that such
excavation, restoration or repair, was made by the Minister or by some person
acting on his orders or with his authority. For the purpose of this subsection
a person shall not be deemed to be acting on the orders or with the authority
of the Minister by reason only. that the Minister had given his consent, under
subsection (1) of this section, to the making of such excavation. |
10. (1) The occupier of any land adjoining any public
road shall cut and prune his hedges, trees, brushwood or other vegetation of
whatever nature growing on the land in such manner as to prevent the same from
overhanging the road, causing or being a potential cause of any danger or obstruction
to persons using the road or obscuring or obstructing the field of view of road
users at intersections, and such occupier shall be responsible for the removal
from any public road of any matter or substance which may have fallen from the
land onto such road. | Duties of occupiers of adjoining property. |
(2) In case any
occupier makes default in doing any of the acts which he is required to do
under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the Minister, after
giving fourteen days notice in writing to the occupier, may, if the default
continues after the expiration of such period of fourteen days, authorise any
person to enter upon any land concerned to carry out such work as may be
necessary to ensure compliance with the requirements of this section and may
recover the cost of so doing as a civil debt due from the occupier of the land
concerned: |
Provided that
without giving any notice to the occupier any person acting on the authority of
the Minister may forthwith carry out any work necessary to remove a cause of
danger or to prevent obstruction of any public road. |
11. No person shall remove or cause or procure or
permit the removal of any sand, earth, or rock from the sea coast at any place
where the course of any public road brings such road within twenty yards of the
sea at high water mark, except with the prior permission in writing of the
Minister and subject to any conditions which the Minister may impose in any
particular case. Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section
shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a
fine of seventy-five dollars. | Restriction on the removal of sand from coastal areas. |
12. (1) Anyone who, except with the consent of the
Minister, closes, damages, deviates, disturbs, obstructs, erects any structure
which projects over, or in any way encroaches or causes any nuisance upon any
public road shall be guilty of an offence and upon summary conviction shall be
liable to a fine of seventy-five dollars, and in the case of a continuing
offence shall be liable to a further fine of fifteen dollars for each day
during which the offence continues. | Penalties for encroachments, etc. |
(2) The Minister
may take any necessary action to remove any obstruction, abate any nuisance or
prevent any damage to any public road and for the purpose of any such action,
any person authorised by the Minister in that behalf, may at all reasonable
times enter upon any land adjacent to any public road. The Minister may recover
the reasonable cost of so doing from the person responsible and in case such
person is convicted of an offence under this section the court recording such
conviction may in the same proceedings determine the sum so payable to the
Minister and the payment of any such sum, in case of default, may be enforced
by such court, on the application of the Minister, in like manner to the
enforcement of the payment of a fine. |
13. Whenever any land is required for the purpose of
the exercise of any powers conferred upon the Minister under the provisions of
this Act, such land shall be acquired, and compensation paid therefor, in
accordance with the provisions of the Acquisition of Land Act, and
such land shall be deemed to be required for a public purpose within the
meaning of that Act. | Acquisition of land. |
14. (1) In any case in which the Minister is satisfied
that it is in the public interest that any public road shall be diverted or
realigned, the Minister, for the purpose of such diversion or realignment, in
lieu of the payment of compensation for any land required for such purpose and
with the consent of the owner of such land, may enter into an agreement for the
exchange of any part of any public road, no longer to be required as a road
after such diversion or realignment, for an area of land of equivalent value
(or with a cash adjustment if the value is different) required by the Minister
for the purpose of this Act. | Exchange of land required for road diversion. |
(2) In pursuance
of any agreement to which this section refers, the Treasurer, at the request of
the Minister is hereby empowered to convey in fee simple to the person with
whom such agreement is made that part of any public road to which the agreement
relates in exchange for the conveyance in fee simple to the Treasurer of the
land required by the Minister, to be held by him in trust for Her Majesty in
right of Her Government of The Bahamas for public purposes. |
(3) For the
avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that the provisions of subsection (3)
of section 5 of the Ministry of Finance Act, shall not apply to a disposition of
land made by the Treasurer under the provisions of subsection (2) of this
section. |
15. Any notice required under the provisions of this
Act to be served upon the owner or occupier of any land may be served
personally or by registered post. In any case in which the identity or the
whereabouts of the owner or occupier is unknown it shall be sufficient service
for a copy of such notice to be posted at the nearest post office and also to
be affixed upon the land concerned. | Service of notice. |
16. In any proceedings in respect of any offence or
breach of duty alleged to have been committed against or under any provisions
of this Act by the occupier of any land, the averment that any person against
whom any proceedings under the Act are brought is the occupier of any
particular land shall be sufficient proof of that fact unless such person shall
prove the contrary. | Proof of occupation. |
17. (1) The Minister may make regulations for the
better carrying out of the provisions of this Act and generally for the
control, construction, maintenance and use of public roads. | Regulations. |
(2) Without
derogation from the generality of the foregoing power, such regulations may
prescribe the conditions subject to which the Minister may permit any temporary
obstruction, encroachment or work to be made or carried out on any public road
or part thereof and may prescribe the fees to be paid therefor by any person
who requires such permission. |