N.Y. Highway Law § 230: Definitions

§ 230. Definitions. As used in this article the following terms shall

have the following meanings:

1. "Bridge" means a structure including supports erected over a

depression or an obstruction such as water, highway, or railway, having

a track or passageway for carrying traffic or other moving loads and

having an opening measured along the center of the track or roadway of

more than twenty feet between under croppings of abutments or spring

lines or arches, or extreme ends of openings for multiple boxes and may

include multiple pipes where the clear distance between openings is less

than half of the smaller contiguous opening. The term bridge, as defined

in this section, shall also include the approaches.

2. "Culvert" means a structure whether of single or multiple span

construction within an interior width of twenty feet or less when

measurement is made horizontally along the center line of roadway from

face to face of abutments or sidewalls immediately below the copings or

fillets; or, if there are no copings or fillets at points six inches

below the bridge seats or immediately under the top slab in the case of

frame structures. In the case of arches, the span shall be measured from

spring line to spring line. All measurements shall include the widths

of intervening piers or division walls as well as the width of copings

or fillets. The term culvert, as defined in this section, shall also

include the approaches.

3. "Publicly-owned, operated or maintained" means a bridge that is

owned, operated or maintained by any department, board, bureau,

commission or agency of the state or its political subdivisions, public

benefit corporation or by any public authority including the port

authority of New York and New Jersey.

4. "Public entity" means any department, board, bureau, commission or

agency of the state or its political subdivisions, public benefit

corporation or any public authority including the port authority of New

York and New Jersey.

5. "Substantial structural alteration" means any work that modifies

the load capacity, loan distribution or load paths or structural

behavior of the bridge.

6. "Railroad bridge" means a structure including supports erected over

a depression or an obstruction such as water, highway, or railway,

having a track or tracks for carrying freight or passengers or other

moving loads and having an opening measured along the center of the

track or roadway of more than twenty feet between under croppings of

abutments or spring lines or arches, or extreme ends of openings for

multiple boxes and may include multiple pipes where the clear distance

between openings is less than half of the smaller contiguous opening

whether privately or publicly owned. The term railroad bridge, as

defined in this section, shall also include the approaches.

7. "Railroad" means a private or public railroad operating in the

state of New York carrying either freight, passengers or freight and

passengers including, but not limited to, those operated by the

metropolitan transportation authority and its subsidiaries, the Long

Island Rail Road, the metro-north railroad, the Staten Island rapid

transit operating authority, the New York city transit authority or any

other public authority or local government and shall include tourist

excursion operations and railrides on standard gauge tracks.