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…