[§46-78]  Improvement districts, initiationby the State.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, therespective legislative bodies of the counties may, upon the petition of thestate department of transportation, create, define and establish improvementdistricts according to applicable assessment statutes or ordinances, for anybetterment or improvement proposed by the state department of transportation. The petition of the department of transportation shall include the necessarysurveys, maps, plans and other data for the betterment or improvement.  Uponapproval of the petition by the legislative body of the county, the countyshall proceed in the same manner as though the plan for the proposedconstruction or improvement had been initiated by the legislative body of thecounty on its own motion, provided that the county may abandon the proceedingsprior to adoption of the resolution creating the improvement district.

The provisions of the assessment statutes orordinances shall be applicable to the proposed construction or improvementinsofar as practicable, provided that the costs thereof shall be assessedagainst the land specially benefited either on a frontage basis, according toarea of the land within the improvement district, or on the basis of assessedvaluation for real property tax purposes, or any combination thereof.

The state department of transportation shallassume, except for the cost to be borne by the board of water supply of thecounty, the cost of construction or improvement which would have been assumedby the county had the project been initiated by the county, including the costsand incidentals necessary to process the project, and the costs allocable tostate land and land exempted by the improvement district statutes from thepayment of improvement assessments; provided that where lands owned by thecounty, including the board of water supply of the county, form part of theimprovement district, the county or the board of water supply of the county,whichever is applicable, shall pay the costs allocable to such lands.  Nothingcontained herein however, shall be construed to prohibit any county fromparticipating in the costs of an improvement district which is initiated uponpetition by the department of transportation.

Upon filing the petition for the creation of animprovement district, the department of transportation shall deposit with thecounty an amount adequate to cover the administrative costs of the county.  Inaddition, the department of transportation shall from time to time upon requestof the county deposit the necessary sums to cover the costs of acquiring landrequired for the project.  Upon award of any contract, either for the entireproject or separately for the different kinds of work to be performed, thedepartment of transportation shall deposit with the county the amount the Stateis obliged to pay towards the contract price; provided that if the completionof the contract will extend beyond the fiscal year in which the contract isexecuted, the department of transportation may deposit with the county, if thecontract is to be completed during the next succeeding fiscal year, at leastfifty per cent or, if the contract by its terms will not be completed untilbeyond the next succeeding fiscal year, at least thirty-three and one third percent of the amount the State is obliged to pay toward the contract price. [L1972, c 201, §1]