(a) Upon approval of the State Highway Commission, the quorum court, and the county judge, any county may expend state aid road funds, as deposited in the State Aid Road Fund pursuant to § 27-72-305 and as administered pursuant to the policies of the Division of State Aid Road Construction of the State Highway and Transportation Department, as provided in § 27-72-304, for the construction, replacement, or reconstruction of bridges located in incorporated towns with a population of five hundred (500) or less, according to the latest federal census, within the county and may use the state aid road funds as matching funds for state, federal, and local funds available for the replacement, construction, or reconstruction of the bridges, provided such bridges are on highways, roads, or streets in such incorporated towns which are extensions to “state aid roads”, as that term is defined in § 27-72-301.
(b) Such extensions shall not be included in the county's allocated state aid system mileage total. Provided, further, such approval may be granted only on a project-by-project basis.