1. (a) Purpose. Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6673e-4, authorizes local governmental units, if approved by the department, to assign a memorial or other identifying designation to a part of the state highway system, and authorizes a county historical commission to apply to the Texas Historical Commission and the department for the marking with the historical name of a farm-to-market or ranch road that follows a historical route. This section prescribes the policies and procedures by which memorial highways and historical routes are named.
2. (b) Commission. Unless otherwise required or authorized by law, the commission shall not officially name any road, bridge, street, or highway on the state highway system for a person or persons, living or dead; nor for any organization or event; nor shall the commission give these parts of the highway system any name or symbol other than the regular highway number.
3. (c) Local governments. Local governmental units, such as a city or county, may assign a memorial or other identifying designation to any part or parts of the highway system; provided, however, that any part of the highway system that is named locally will be marked only with the regular highway number.
4. (d) Markers. Local governmental units may buy and furnish to the department a suitable locally identifying memorial marker of a size and type which must be approved by the department. Upon request, the department may erect such marker at a place most suitable to the department's maintenance operations.
5. (e) Continuous designations. When two or more local governmental units cooperate in seeking a single continuous memorial designation for a highway through their limits, markers may be furnished to the department to be erected at each end of the designated limits, and at such intermediate sites that markers shall be approximately 75 miles apart.
6. (f) Application. When a memorial designation is planned by a local governmental unit or units, the sponsor or sponsors shall submit to the executive director a complete description of the nature and objectives of the dedication, and the type and full description of the marker or markers to be erected. If approved by the executive director, a period of three months shall be required from date of approval to the actual erection of the marker or markers, in order for the department to select and prepare a proper site.
7. (g) Maintenance. Maintenance of grounds surrounding such markers shall be the responsibility of the department, but repairs or replacement of the markers shall be made by the sponsoring organizations.

8. (h) Historical routes.

   1. (1) Application. A county historical commission may apply to the Texas Historical Commission and the department for the marking with a historical name of a farm-to-market or ranch road that follows a historical route.
   2. (2) Certification. Before the department may mark the road with the historical name, the Texas Historical Commission must certify that the name has been in common usage in the area for at least 50 years. The certification must be based on evidence submitted by the applying county historical commission, which must include affidavits from at least five long-time residents of the area.
   3. (3) Installation. On certification by the Texas Historical Commission, the department will prepare and install signs along the road indicating the road's historical name. The applying county historical commission shall pay for the preparation of the signs.

Source Note:The provisions of this §25.9 adopted to be effective December 31, 1992, 17 TexReg 8960.