N.Y. Highway Law § 3: Classification of highways

§ 3. Classification of highways. Highways are hereby divided into five

classes.

1. State highways are those constructed or improved under this chapter

at the sole expense of the state, including the highways specified and

described in sections three hundred and forty and three hundred and

forty-one of this chapter and acts amendatory thereof, including the

highways heretofore classified or referred to as county highways

elsewhere in this chapter and heretofore constructed or improved at the

joint expense of state, county and town, or state and county as

heretofore provided by law.

2. Controlled access highways are those state highways which are

entirely or partly constructed, reconstructed or improved at a location

where no public highway theretofore existed and to and from which the

owners or occupants of abutting property or of any other persons shall

have no right of access either as pedestrians, as operators of vehicles

or in any other capacity, excepting at junctions of such highways with

other public highways, and also excepting as such access may be reserved

pursuant to the description and map of the property which has been or

which hereafter shall be acquired in accordance with this chapter for

the purpose of such controlled access highways.

3. State thruways are those highways specified and described in

section three hundred forty-nine-a of this chapter, constructed,

improved or reconstructed as provided in such section.

4. County roads are those roads constructed, improved, maintained and

repaired under article six of this chapter and roads constructed or

improved under a general or special law, which are maintained by the

county.

5. Town highways are those constructed, improved or maintained by the

town with the aid of the state or county, under the provisions of this

chapter, including all highways in towns, outside of incorporated

villages constituting separate road districts which do not belong to

either of the two preceding classes.