Section 24-1-106 - Closing or restricting use; when necessary(a) The department of transportation may restrict the use of, or close, any state highway whenever the department considers the closing or restriction of use necessary: (i) For the protection of the public; (ii) For the protection of the highway from damage during storms or during construction, improvement or maintenance operations thereon; or (iii) For a special event or athletic event pursuant to subsections (b) and (c) of this section. (b) The department of transportation may authorize the complete or partial closure of designated portions of any state highway for the purpose of conducting a special event or athletic event. The director of the department may use equipment and personnel as necessary. The closure may be authorized only if: (i) A written application for the event is submitted to the department, containing information the department deems necessary and the application is approved by the director; (ii) A county government approves the closure if the closure would restrict the use of any county road in the unincorporated area of the county; and (iii) The closure is implemented in a manner consistent with the rules and regulations of the department and will cause the least inconvenience to the driving public consistent with the requirements of the special event or athletic event. (c) If an event calls for closure of a state highway within an incorporated city or town, for which there is no readily accessible alternate route, the city or town shall request department approval for the closure. (d) For purposes of this section: (i) "Special event" or "athletic event" means any event which is held outside the corporate limits of any city or town on a state highway but cannot comply with all applicable traffic statutes or ordinances. This shall include, but not be limited to, parades, fairs, exhibitions, motion picture filming, bicycle races and foot races. This definition does not include an event taking place away from a highway which, due to the number of persons attending the event, creates traffic congestion on a highway before and after the event; and (ii) "Partial or complete closure of designated portions of any state highway" means the closing to traffic of any roadway, lane or other portion of a state roadway or highway or any other restriction of the normal use of a highway.