Road Law Blog
COLORADO’S SECTION LINE ROADS
Sec. 3931 (Mills Ann. St., Chapter 108; Colorado Laws 1891) conferred upon county commissioners an interesting power over federal lands “in the public domain”.
“…Provided, the commissioners of the county may, at any regular meeting, by an order of the board, declare any section or township line on the public domain, a public highway; and on and after the date of such order, which shall be attested by the clerk, under seal of the county, and recorded in the office of recorder of deeds, the road so laid out shall be a public highway…”
WHAT CONSTITUTES A “ROAD”?
I have occasionally been confronted in cross-examination by legal counsel insisting that there are legal differences between “trails” and “roads”. “RS 2477”, they argue, “requires a land route on which wagons and trucks may pass each other in opposing traffic – in other words, a road but not a trail”. Admittedly, a “trail” is a land route created by pedestrian or equestrian traffic moving in single file while a “road” is often considered a land route wide enough to accommodate a four-wheeled vehicle (wagon or truck). Nonetheless, I often cite to various legal authorities which do not support the attorney’s argument. Indeed, Colorado jurisprudence has been decidedly on my side…
THE FEDERALLY RETAINED EASEMENT
On May 26, 2023, the federal court in Wyoming rendered its decision on “cross-walking” over corners of private and public sections of land as shown in the figure above. The circumstances were intriguing. The defendants had fabricated a metal ladder allowing them to literally climb over the pinpoint intersection and thereby avoid stepping on the private land. The court rejected the land baron’s argument that he owned the air space above that pinpoint…
THE IMPORTANCE OF RECORDING A ROAD SURVEY
Claims under RS 2477 and Prescriptive Easements (C.R.S. 38-41-101(1) and 43-2-201(1)(c)) involve land routes which not only have not been the subject of recorded deeds but also which have not previously been surveyed as to their course and route. The successful claimant then must obtain a survey showing the course, route and width of the easement. The court’s failure to do so is judicial error. Bd. Cty. Cmmsrs, Delta v. Ogburn 554 P.2d., 700, 702 (Colo. App. 1976); Lovvorn v. Salisbury 701 P.2d. 142, 144 (Colo. App. 1985); Wright v. Horse Creek Ranches 659 P.2d. 705, 709 (Colo. App. 1977). The courts have not dictated the specific type of survey. Traditional metes-and-bounds surveys are available but GPS and drone surveying have been found to be eminently practicable – and equally precise - in remote and rugged terrain. Both traditional and so-called “modern” surveying result in printed plats showing centerline and road width on each side of…