{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-11-1302","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 47, § 47-11-1302","heading":"Maintenance and construction zones","body":"A. The Department of Transportation, Oklahoma Turnpike\n\nAuthority and any county or city in this state are hereby authorized\n\nto close any highway or section thereof, within their respective\n\njurisdiction, to traffic while the highway is flooded or under\n\nrepair, maintenance or construction and, in exercising the\n\nauthority, shall erect or cause to be erected traffic-control\n\ndevices and barricades to warn and notify the public that the\n\nhighway has been closed to traffic.\n\nB. When any highway has been closed to traffic under the\n\nprovisions of subsection A of this section and traffic-control\n\ndevices or barricades have been erected, it shall be unlawful for\n\nany person to drive any vehicle through, under, over, or around the\n\ntraffic-control devices or barricades, or otherwise to enter the\n\nclosed area. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to\n\npersons while engaged in the construction, maintenance and repair of\n\nthe highway or to persons entering therein for the protection of\n\nlives or property; provided, that persons having their places of\n\nresidence or places of business within the closed area may travel,\n\nwhen possible to do so, through the area at their own risk.\n\nC. Whenever construction, repair and maintenance of any highway\n\nis being performed under traffic, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority,\n\nDepartment of Transportation, county or city having jurisdiction\n\nover the highway shall erect, or cause to be erected, traffic-\n\ncontrol devices to warn and guide the public. Each person using the\n\nhighway shall obey all signs, signals, markings, flagmen or other\n\ntraffic-control devices which are placed to regulate, control, and\n\nguide traffic through the construction or maintenance area. As used\n\nin this subsection, \"construction or maintenance area\" means any\n\narea upon or around any highway that is visibly marked as an area\n\nwhere construction, repair, and maintenance is temporarily\n\noccurring. The construction or maintenance area also includes the\n\nlanes of highway leading up to the area upon which an activity\n\ndescribed in this section is being performed, beginning at the point\n\nwhere properly posted traffic-control devices start to warn and\n\nguide the public into and through the construction or maintenance\n\nincluding, but not limited to, instructions to merge from one lane\n\ninto another lane, to reduce speed, or to follow directions of\n\nflagmen.\n\nD. The \"Merge Now\" traffic-control device that is used to warn\n\nand guide the public using the highway to merge shall be located in\n\nadvance of the highway construction or maintenance area in\n\naccordance with the standards set forth in the most current edition\n\nof the Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic\n\nControl Devices. Whenever any traffic-control device requires\n\ntraffic to merge due to the closure of a section or lane of highway,\n\nthe merge shall be completed:\n\n1. As soon as practicable after passing the traffic-control\n\ndevice; and\n\n2. Without passing any other traffic proceeding in the same\n\ndirection.\n\nE. No person shall remove, change, modify, deface or alter any\n\ntraffic-control device or barricade which has been erected on any\n\nhighway under the provisions of this section.\n\nF. Nothing in this section shall relieve the state or any of\n\nits subdivisions or their contractors, agents, servants or employees\n\nfrom liability for failure to perform any of the duties imposed\n\nherein.\n\nG. Except as provided in subsection H of this section, any\n\nperson who violates any provision of this section shall, upon\n\nconviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not\n\nless than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand\n\nDollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed\n\nthirty (30) days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and shall be\n\nliable for any damage to property, or injury to or death to persons\non who violates any provision of this section shall, upon\n\nconviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not\n\nless than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand\n\nDollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed\n\nthirty (30) days, or both such fine and imprisonment, and shall be\n\nliable for any damage to property, or injury to or death to persons\n\ncaused by the violations. In addition, the court may order\n\nrestitution in an amount equal to the actual costs of the emergency\n\nresponse and repair or replacement of any damaged or lost emergency\n\nequipment.\n\nH. When any section of a highway, turnpike, county road or city\n\nstreet has been closed to traffic due to flooding that is ongoing\n\nand traffic-control devices or barricades have been erected by law\n\nenforcement or other government officials with authority over\n\ntraffic control, it shall be unlawful for any person to tear down,\n\ndamage or remove any traffic-control devices or barricades or drive\n\nany vehicle through, under, over or around the traffic-control\n\ndevices or barricades, or otherwise to enter the closed area. Any\n\nperson who violates the provisions of this subsection shall, upon\n\nconviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not\n\nless than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand\n\nDollars ($1,000.00). The person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor\n\npunishable by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00)\n\nnor more than Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500.00) and\n\nimprisonment in the county jail for not more than one (1) year if\n\nthe operator of the motor vehicle was transporting a person eighteen\n\n(18) years of age or younger at the time of the violation.\n\nPersons convicted pursuant to the provisions of this subsection\n\nshall be ordered to pay restitution in an amount equal to the actual\n\ncosts of the emergency response and repair or replacement of any\n\ndamaged or lost emergency equipment. In addition, the person shall\n\nbe liable for any damage to property or injury or death to persons\n\ncaused by the violation.","path":["OK Code","Title 47"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os47.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"721d00bd878554aed0fdc93d15bc7ce7357dd0c595ba364ac0cce3e20e5a0ff4","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-11-1301","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-47-47-11-1303"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}