Title 24, Highways, Bridges, and Ferries

The requirement of section 24-05-21 as to a graded inslope of all roads and approaches does not apply: 1. Where the governing body having authority over such roads and approaches exempts such roads and approaches from the requirement of section 24-05-21 due to factors causing an …

A landowner who encroaches upon a county road or its ditches or approaches must be given notice by the board of commissioners for that county that the encroachment has been discovered. If the landowner fails to remedy the encroachment within twenty days after receiving the notice…

The governing body having authority over the right of way of a county or township road may develop and implement rules governing the disposal of any stored hay or other obstruction placed on the right of way.

The board of township supervisors of any township in the state has general supervision over the roads, highways, and bridges throughout the township.

The board of supervisors of any township may contract for and purchase, upon credit or otherwise, any road machinery, implements, or equipment for the use of such township.

Road implements purchased by a township must be paid out of the highway taxes of the township and may be paid in not to exceed five annual installments. A copy of the note or contract issued upon the purchase must be filed in the office of the township clerk, and such township cl…

Each overseer of highways is responsible personally for the proper use and care of all implements while in the overseer's charge, or in use in the overseer's district, and any overseer of highways, or other person who, through negligence or willfully injures or damages such imple…

Each board of township supervisors shall provide suitable places for the storage and proper housing of all tools, implements, and machinery owned by the township and shall cause such tools, implements, and machinery to be stored and housed therein when not in use.

In townships owning road machinery, the board of township supervisors may make such disposition of the same as in its discretion is best for the interests of the township, or it may purchase or lease such machinery as may be necessary.

The board of supervisors of any township may enter into a contract with the board of county commissioners of the county, the board of supervisors of another township, or the directors of a soil conservation district for the construction, improvement, or repairing of township road…

In all places where highways are improved and graded under the contract system in a township where land contiguous to, adjoining, and outside of the limits of any city has been surveyed into a block or blocks and divided into city lots, the person to whom such contract is awarded…

Whenever a township constructs a ditch or drain in connection with road building, and such ditch, drain, or road interferes with the ingress or egress of any owner of adjoining land, the township shall install crossings at such point or points as will afford the owner or owners o…

The electors of any township, at the annual township meeting, may direct such portion of the road tax to be expended on the highways in an adjoining township as they deem conducive to the interests of the township. In such instance, labor and taxes must be expended under the join…

Where more than one congressional township is included within a civil township, the road taxes raised within the limits of each congressional township must be expended within such congressional township, unless raised to be expended outside of such civil township.

In unorganized territory, the board of county commissioners shall appoint a district overseer of highways whose power and duties are the same as in an organized township, and whose compensation must be fixed by the board of county commissioners to be paid on presentation of a ver…

The board of county commissioners shall order the expenditure of all road taxes paid into the county treasury from unorganized territory in the improvement of the highways, paying the district overseer of highways, purchasing implements, and repairing bridges in the road district…

On or before the first Monday in January in each year, each district overseer of highways appointed by the board of county commissioners shall make a report to the board of the overseer's doings as such during the preceding year, the amount of labor performed, and the number of d…

All road taxes and assessments upon persons or property must be paid in cash, and the township clerk, immediately after the board of township supervisors has made the levy of taxes for road purposes, shall notify the county auditor of the amount of the levy. The county auditor sh…

The board of township supervisors shall order the expenditure of all road taxes paid into the township treasury in the improvement of the highways under such regulations as it may deem most expedient for the public interests, and for this purpose, shall issue a warrant upon the r…

The officers charged with the duty of expending road taxes may proceed at once, upon the levy of taxes, with the work upon the roads in their districts and may cause warrants to be issued in payment thereof in anticipation of the current year's taxes.

Whenever any overseer of highways files with the board of township supervisors or with the board of county commissioners, as the case may be, the overseer's affidavit stating that a certain road in the overseer's district runs into or through swamp, bog, meadow, or other lowland,…

When the construction or reconstruction of a township road or bridge, the insertion of a culvert in a township road, or the construction or reconstruction of a ditch or drain in connection with a township road affects the flow of surface waters and increases the surface waterflow…

The party with an interest in land adjacent to a township road is not responsible for maintaining that ditch unless improper conservation practices on that party's adjoining land have led to unreasonable wind and water erosion, not commonly experienced in the locality, which resu…

The board of township supervisors may authorize any private party to maintain, clean, or shape a ditch along a township road at that party's own expense and in accordance with this section. In maintaining, cleaning, or shaping a ditch, the private party may not spread any soil or…

Any person who obstructs or in any way injures any ditch opened as provided in section 24-06-26 is liable to pay to the overseer of highways of such road district double the damages caused by such injury, which must be assessed by the jury or court, and also is guilty of a class …

1. A person may not place or cause to be placed any permanent obstruction within the vertical plane of thirty-three feet [10.06 meters] of any section line or within the right of way of any highway, unless written permission is first secured from the board of county commissioners…

1. If a person places or causes to be placed a permanent obstruction within the vertical plane of thirty-three feet [10.06 meters] of any section line or within the right of way of any highway, the board of county commissioners or board of township supervisors, as appropriate, wh…

When a public highway is opened along any section line, the board of county commissioners or the board of township supervisors, as the case may be, shall notify the owner of adjacent property to remove any fences not constructed pursuant to subsection 2 of section 24-06-28 within…

Each overseer of highways having personal knowledge, or on being notified in writing, of any obstruction in the highway or public street in the overseer's district immediately shall remove or cause any such obstruction to be removed. The overseer's district may seek recovery of c…

Whenever a county or township plans to construct or reconstruct a bridge, install or modify a culvert, or construct or reconstruct a drain in connection with a roadway or railway, the county or township shall provide notice in any way to the water resource board of the water reso…

All public roads and highways within this state which have been or which shall be open and in use as such, during twenty successive years, hereby are declared to be public roads or highways and confirmed and established as such whether the same have been laid out, established, an…

Every road laid out by the proper authorities, as provided for in this chapter, from the laying out of which no appeal has been taken within the time limited for taking such appeal, hereby is declared a public highway to all intents and purposes, and all persons having refused or…

In all townships in this state, outside the limits of incorporated cities, and outside platted townsites, additions, or subdivisions recorded pursuant to sections 40-50.1-01 through 40-50.1-17 or recorded prior to July 1, 1987, under former chapter 40-50, the congressional sectio…

A person having a surface interest in a parcel of land connected by a section line to another parcel of land in which that person has a surface interest or to a highway may petition the board of county commissioners in an unorganized township or the board of township supervisors …

Except as otherwise provided in this title, all proceedings for the opening, vacating, or changing of a highway outside of the limits of an incorporated city, including the acquisition of right of way when necessary, must be under the charge and in the name of: 1. The board of co…

The board having jurisdiction as provided in this chapter may alter or discontinue any road or lay out any new road upon the petition of not less than six qualified electors who have an ownership interest in real estate in the vicinity of the road to be altered, discontinued, or …

Whenever any tract of land is surveyed or sold in tracts less than the original subdivision as established by the government survey thereof, so that any part thereof does not touch upon a public road so as to allow the owner of such tract access to a public highway, the board of …

Whenever a petition is received by the board having jurisdiction, requiring a new road to be laid out, said board, when in its judgment circumstances warrant the same, shall employ a competent surveyor to survey and lay out said road, and such survey must include a line of levels…

The provisions of this chapter apply to all lands owned by the state or any institution thereof, or held by virtue of any contract with the state, and notice of the altering, laying out, or discontinuing of any cartway or highway pursuant to this chapter must be served by registe…

The petitioners for the alteration or discontinuance of any road, or for laying out any new road, shall cause copies of their petition to be posted in three of the most public places in the county or township having jurisdiction thereof, twenty days before any action is had in re…

Within thirty days after the board having jurisdiction receives a petition in compliance with provisions of this chapter for laying out, altering, or discontinuing any highway, it shall make out a notice and fix therein a time and place at which it will meet and decide upon such …

When at least seventy percent of the qualified electors who are owners or part owners of land bordering on any existing or proposed road or highway have signed the original petition and thereby released all their claims to damages arising from altering, discontinuing, or laying o…

If the petition is for the opening, altering, or discontinuing of a road or highway between two or more counties, it must be filed with the auditor of one of the counties affected at least fifteen days before any action is taken, and the auditor immediately shall transmit certifi…

The board having jurisdiction, upon being satisfied that copies of the petition have been posted and notices have been served and posted as required, or that at least seventy percent of the qualified electors who are owners of lands affected have signed the original petition and …

Whenever the board of county commissioners or the board of township supervisors shall lay out, alter, or discontinue any highway, it shall cause a survey thereof to be made when necessary, and it shall make out an accurate description of the highway so altered, discontinued, or l…

The order laying out, altering, or discontinuing any highway, or a copy of the record duly certified by the county auditor or township clerk, as each case may require, must be received in all courts as competent evidence of the facts therein contained and must be prima facie evid…

The damages sustained by reason of laying out, altering, or discontinuing any road may be ascertained by the agreement of the owners and the board of county commissioners or the board of township supervisors, as the case may be, and unless such agreement is made, or the owners in…

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no damages may be assessed or allowed to any person, corporation, or limited liability company by reason of the laying out of any new road or the altering of any old one, if the title of the land on which such road passes was vested i…

The determination of a board of county commissioners, or a board of township supervisors in refusing to lay out, alter, or discontinue any highway, is final, unless such determination is appealed from as is provided in this chapter, for the term of one year after the filing of su…

Whenever any public road has been laid out through any enclosed, cultivated, or improved lands, pursuant to this chapter and the decision of the board laying out the road has not been appealed from, the board shall give the owner or occupant of the land through which the road is …