It is not part of the official duties of a county highway engineer to design and supervise the construction of bridges built by a special road district organized under the provisions of Sections 233.010 to 233.165, RSMo. The county highway engineer may be employed and compensated by such special road district to design and supervise the construction of a bridge to be built by such special road district.

BRJDGES: COMPEN~ATION : COUNTY HfCHWAY ENGINEER: I t is not par t of tho official duties of a county highway eng~neer to design and supervise the construction of bridges built by a special road district organized under the provisions of Sections 233. 010 t o 233 .165, RSMoo The county highway engineer may be employed and compensated by such special road district to design and super· vise t he construction of a bridge to be buil t by such special road dist rict . HIGHWAY ENGINEER : SPECIAL ROAD DI STRICT : OPINION NO. 35 february 7, 1964 Honorable Eer nard Simcoe State Repreaentat1ve Callaway C9unt y li\llt on, Mla0Qur 1 Dear Mr. Si mcoe : FiLED 3:s- ··-- Your ~~cent request ror an offici al opinion ot th1s of'fice reads a~ follows: "Is i t a part or the offi cial dUty of a Qgunty Engineer to design and supervise t he building of 'br1dgett in a special road <11str1ot in the county? If it 1s not may he be employed by the Speoial Road District to do t hi s and recei ve compensat~on f or dG1ng so~' " I have been informed that the special road di stri ct to which you have reference is ·:l city or town road di strict or- ga.nited under Secti ons 233.010 to 233 ... 165, RSMo .. Section 233.,115, 1\SJio, provideS that the Board of Commissioners of sue-h special road district may build bri dges: "Said board may., by contract or other-· wise, under such regulati ons as the board shall prescribe, build, repa1P and main~ ta1n, or cause to be built, I'epaired, or maintained ell bridges and culverts needed withi n said district¥ provided, however, that the county court- ot the county in which said special road 418- trict is located may~ in ita di screti on, out of the funds available to it f'or that pu~ose, construct., maintain, or Honorable Bernard Stmcoe repair, any bridge, or bridges, or cul- vert or culverts in such road district, or districts, or it may, in ita discretion, ap- propriate out of the funds available ror that purpose money to aid and aaa1at the commissioners ot said special road district, or districts, which shall be expended by the c0JIIIliss1oners of said special road dis• trict, or districts, as above provided. " In addition to permitting the board or the special road district to build or contract to build bridges, the statute provides that the county court may also build bridges in the district or may appropriate funds to the board or com- Jiiaeioners to aid the district 1n ita building ot the bridges. In the situation where the co\Ulty builds the bridge, it would be the county highway engineer's duty to design and supervise t-he building or the bridge, and obviously as the special road district would not be building tbe bridge it could not hire him or compensate him tor such work nor would it ao desire. But in the a1 tuation where the special road 41str1ct is building the bridge, either totally with their own funds or with county funde appt-opriated to thea tor euoh purpose, the county highway engineer ha8 no such duty to design and super- vise the building ot br1dsee in the special road district. Sections 234.010 and 234.020, RSNo 1959, do not apply in the case of special road d1atr1cta which are independent, corporate entities. Section 234. Olo. "Bach county court shall determine what bridges shall be built and m.aintai.ned at the expense of the count7 and what by tbe road dis- trictaJ provided, that no road district shall be compelled to build a brid§e whioh ooats fitty dollars or more. Section 234.020. "lftle construction of al.l masonry or conorote eul vert~ and bridges, and ot all other bridges costing over titty dollars, shall be under the eupervia1on or the count,- high- way engineer. " The road districts re£erred to 1n Section 234.010, supra. are the general road districts provided tor in Section 231.010, RSMo 1959. Section 234.020, supra. necessarily rerers to county bridges and general road district bridges Honorable Bernard Simcoe and not to special road disttt1cte. It 1a true the section provides that "all tl bridges are to be unde~ the superv1e1on ot the county highway engineer but th1a must be limited to the conte~t 1n which it is found, to do o~herwise would lead to the reeul t that all state and ~ederal bridge construction in the county would be under the eounty h1gbwa~ eng1neer1s supervision~ whieh 1a surely not the leg;t.1Sla.tive intent, but rather the intent 1a that the county b1,ghway engineer is to supervise the construction or county and general road dietr1et bridges. the legislature did not exprese any intention in the s-ections concerning apec1al road d1etr1cta that the county highway engineer had a duty to supervise the construction or special road district bridges and without such exp~seion in the statutes the coun-ty highway eng-ineer ha.s no duty to so a-ct. Stnce the county highway engineer has no such duty to so act, he may be compensated to~ the pe.rto~ee ot such acts if auch acts are not so incompatible with his ort1c1al duties so as to render such aete tmproper. lhe 1noompat1b1lity does not mean phyei~•l inability to per.torm both Jobs but some conflict in the duties required as where the county highway engineer, as such, hae eo.e supervision over himself in the performance ot the job, 1s required to deal with, control. or ass1at himself 1n such JOb. See State ex rel. Umstord v. x.naas C:1 ~Y, 261 8W 115. and an opinion ot tbie otf1ce under date of September 8, 1961, ad~eaed to Honorable Proctor H. Carter~ wbic.h 1s attached. !'his otf'i,ce 1'1\\ds no such 1ncOltlP&t1b111 ty in the office or county highway eft61nHr and eJJll)lo~t by a special road district to df!aign an<l supervise the construction ot a bridge by such. spee1al road district. QONeJAJSION c therefore, it ts the opinion ot this o~.fice that it is not part ot th~ ort1cJ.al duties o£ a eount:r highway engineer to design and supervise the construction ot br1tSses built bt a special l'O•d dis~1ct orgatUzea under- the prov1s.1ons or 8eet:1ons 233.010 to 233.165, ltSifo. 'the county highl!f&Y engineer may be employed and eompensated by such special road district Honorable Bernard Simcoe to design and supervise the eonstru~tion of a bridge to be built by sueh spee1·al road district. 'l'h~ toregoins opinion which I hereby approve 1 was pr$- pared b7 lJey' asaiata:nt, JereDU.ah D. Pinnegan. Enc. JDF:df Yours vetry truly, Mill!'.,. UlJtfiOR Attorney General