163.01 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.01 DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this chapter, the terms defined in section 160.02 shall have the same
meanings.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 1

163.02 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.02 GENERAL POWERS OF COUNTY BOARD.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment and supervision. County highways shall be established,
located, relocated, constructed, reconstructed, improved, maintained, revoked, or vacated by the
several counties. The several county boards shall have general supervision over county highways,
including those highways other than cartways within their respective counties established by
judicial authority, and they may appropriate and expend sums of money from their respective
county road and bridge funds as they deem necessary for the establishment, location, construction,
reconstruction, improvement and maintenance, or vacation of such highways.
    Subd. 2. Acquisition. They may acquire by purchase, gift, or eminent domain proceedings
as provided by law, all necessary right-of-way for such highways, purchase all necessary road
material, machinery, tools, and supplies needed therefor; and may construct buildings or rent, or
acquire by purchase, gift, or eminent domain proceedings, grounds and buildings necessary for
the storing and housing of such material, machinery, tools, and supplies.
    Subd. 3. Weight and load restrictions. The county board, or the county engineer if so
authorized by the board, may impose weight and load restrictions on any highway under its
jurisdiction.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 2

163.03 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.03 COUNTY ROAD AND BRIDGE FUND.
The county board shall provide and set apart a fund to be known as the county road and bridge
fund. Any money remaining in the county-aid road fund of any county may be transferred by the
county board to the county road and bridge fund. All warrants for the establishment, location,
vacation, construction, reconstruction, improvement, and maintenance of county state-aid
highways and county highways and bridges shall be drawn on the county road and bridge fund.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 3

163.035 BICYCLE PATHS.
The county board may in the interests of public safety expend road and bridge funds for the
construction and maintenance of bicycle paths on road rights-of-way under county jurisdiction.
History: 1974 c 491 s 1

163.04 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.04 EXPENDITURES.
    Subdivision 1. County highway or county state-aid highway. The county board may
appropriate and expend sums of money from the county road and bridge fund as it deems
necessary for establishing, locating, constructing, improving, and maintaining any county highway
or county state-aid highway, including those within the corporate limits of any city in the county.
    Subd. 2. Local road or street. The county board of any county may appropriate from its
road and bridge fund to any town, statutory city, or city of the second, third, or fourth class in its
county, such sums of money as are available and which it deems advisable to aid such towns,
statutory cities, or cities of the second, third, or fourth class in the construction and maintenance
of roads, streets, or bridges therein, and the appropriations may be directly expended by the
county board, upon the roads, streets, or bridges as shall be designated by the governing bodies of
the towns, statutory cities, or cities of the second, third, and fourth classes. In counties having a
population of 400,000 or over, the county aid may be expended in accordance with the provisions
of Laws 1905, Chapter 164, as amended. No statutory city, or city of the second, third, or fourth
class shall receive, except as otherwise authorized by law, an appropriation hereunder exceeding
20 percent of the annual county tax levy for road and bridge purposes paid by the statutory
city, or city of second, third, or fourth class.
    Subd. 3. Bridges within certain cities. When the council of any statutory city or city of the
third or fourth class may determine that it is necessary to build or improve any bridge or bridges,
including approaches thereto, and any dam or retaining works connected therewith, upon or
forming a part of streets or highways either wholly or partly within its limits, the county board
shall appropriate one-half of the money as may be necessary therefor from the county road and
bridge fund, not exceeding during any year one-half the amount of taxes paid into the county
road and bridge fund during the preceding year, on property within the corporate limits of the
city. The appropriation shall be made upon the petition of the council, which petition shall be
filed by the council with the county board prior to the fixing by the board of the annual county
tax levy. The county board shall determine the plans and specifications, shall let all necessary
contracts, shall have charge of construction, and upon its request, warrants in payment thereof
shall be issued by the county auditor, from time to time, as the construction work proceeds. Any
unpaid balance may be paid or advanced by the city. On petition of the council, the appropriations
of the county board, during not to exceed three successive years, may be made to apply on the
construction of the same items and to repay any money advanced by the city in the construction
thereof. None of the provisions of this section shall be construed to be mandatory as applied to
any city whose market value exceeds $2,100 per capita of its population.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 4; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1988 c 719 art 5 s 84; 1989 c 329 art 13
s 20; 1990 c 480 art 9 s 5

163.05 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.05 TAXATION.
    Subdivision 1. Levy. The county board at its July meeting may include in its annual tax levy
an amount for the county road and bridge fund.
    Subd. 2.[Repealed, 1973 c 583 s 37]
    Subd. 3.[Repealed, 1973 c 583 s 37; 1973 c 588 s 1]
    Subd. 4.[Repealed, 1973 c 583 s 37]
    Subd. 5.[Repealed, 1973 c 583 s 37]
    Subd. 6. Road and bridge tax is additional. The taxes provided herein may be additional to
the amount permitted by law to be levied for other county purposes.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 5; 1967 c 592 s 1-3; 1973 c 583 s 11

163.051 METROPOLITAN COUNTY WHEELAGE TAX.
    Subdivision 1. Tax authorized. The board of commissioners of each metropolitan county is
authorized to levy a wheelage tax of $5 for the year 1972 and each subsequent year thereafter by
resolution on each motor vehicle, except motorcycles as defined in section 169.01, subdivision 4,
which is kept in such county when not in operation and which is subject to annual registration and
taxation under chapter 168. The board may provide by resolution for collection of the wheelage
tax by county officials or it may request that the tax be collected by the state registrar of motor
vehicles, and the state registrar of motor vehicles shall collect such tax on behalf of the county if
requested, as provided in subdivision 2.
    Subd. 2. Collection by registrar of motor vehicles. The wheelage tax levied by any
metropolitan county, if made collectible by the state registrar of motor vehicles, shall be certified
by the county auditor to the registrar not later than August 1 in the year before the calendar year
or years for which the tax is levied, and the registrar shall collect such tax with the motor vehicle
taxes on the affected vehicles for such year or years. Every owner and every operator of such a
motor vehicle shall furnish to the registrar all information requested by the registrar. No state
motor vehicle tax on any such motor vehicle for any such year shall be received or deemed paid
unless the applicable wheelage tax is paid therewith. The proceeds of the wheelage tax levied by
any metropolitan county, less any amount retained by the registrar to pay costs of collection of the
wheelage tax, shall be paid to the commissioner of finance and deposited in the state treasury to
the credit of the county wheelage tax fund of each metropolitan county.
    Subd. 2a. Tax proceeds deposited; costs of collection; appropriation. Notwithstanding
the provisions of any other law, the state registrar of motor vehicles shall deposit the proceeds
of the wheelage tax imposed by subdivision 2, to the credit of the county wheelage tax fund of
each metropolitan county. The amount necessary to pay the costs of collection of said tax is
appropriated from the county wheelage tax fund of each metropolitan county to the state registrar
of motor vehicles.
    Subd. 3. Distribution to metropolitan county; appropriation. On or before April 1 in
1972 and each subsequent year, the commissioner of finance shall issue a warrant in favor of the
treasurer of each metropolitan county for which the registrar has collected a wheelage tax in the
amount of such tax then on hand in the county wheelage tax fund. There is hereby appropriated
from the county wheelage tax fund each year, to each metropolitan county entitled to payments
authorized by this section, sufficient moneys to make such payments.
    Subd. 4. Use of tax. The treasurer of each metropolitan county receiving moneys under
subdivision 3 shall deposit such moneys in the county road and bridge fund. The moneys shall
be used for purposes authorized by law which are highway purposes within the meaning of the
Minnesota Constitution, article 14.
    Subd. 5. Effect on road and bridge levy. The county auditor of each metropolitan county
shall reduce the amount of the property taxes levied pursuant to law in 1973 for collection in
1974, by the board of commissioners of such county for the county road and bridge fund, by the
following amount: Anoka County, $341,750; Carver County, $86,725; Dakota County, $386,165;
Hennepin County, $2,728,425; Ramsey County, $1,276,815; Scott County, $104,805; Washington
County, $227,220, and shall spread only the balance thereof on the tax rolls for collection in 1972.
The county auditor shall also reduce the amount of such taxes levied pursuant to law in 1972 and
any subsequent year, for collection in the respective ensuing years, by the amount of wheelage
taxes received by the county in the 12 months immediately preceding such levy.
    Subd. 6. Metropolitan county defined. "Metropolitan county" means any of the counties of
Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, and Washington.
    Subd. 7. Offenses; penalties; application of other laws. Any owner or operator of a motor
vehicle who shall willfully give any false information relative to the tax herein authorized to the
registrar of motor vehicles or any metropolitan county, or who shall willfully fail or refuse to
furnish any such information, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Except as otherwise herein
provided, the collection and payment of a wheelage tax and all matters relating thereto shall
be subject to all provisions of law relating to collection and payment of motor vehicle taxes
so far as applicable.
History: 1971 c 830 s 11; Ex1971 c 48 s 12; 1973 c 492 s 14; 1973 c 551 s 1,2; 1976 c
2 s 172; 1986 c 444; 2003 c 112 art 2 s 50

163.06 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.06 TAXATION IN UNORGANIZED TOWNSHIPS.
    Subdivision 1. Levy. The county board of any county in which there are unorganized
townships may levy a tax for road and bridge purposes upon all the real and personal property
in such unorganized townships, exclusive of money and credits taxed under the provisions of
chapter 285.
    Subd. 2. Tax is additional. The tax, if levied, is additional to the tax which the counties may
levy for the county road and bridge funds and is additional to the amount permitted by law to
be levied for other county purposes. The tax may be levied on any or all unorganized townships
within a county, provided that no such tax shall be levied on only a part of an unorganized
township within a county.
    Subd. 3. Extending tax levy. If any county deems it desirable to levy such a tax, it may at
the time it levies the county taxes, by resolution reciting such fact, determine the amount so to
be levied in each unorganized township for the current year. It shall be the duty of the county
auditor to extend the tax so levied upon the tax books of the county, at the same time and in the
same manner as other taxes for county purposes are extended as to property in such unorganized
townships, and the tax shall be collected and payment thereof enforced at the same time and in the
same manner as other county taxes on such property and with like penalties for nonpayment at
the time prescribed by law.
    Subd. 4. Separate fund. The tax collected from each unorganized township shall be set apart
in a separate fund in the county treasury, and each shall be designated as the road and bridge fund
of the unorganized township from which the tax was collected.
    Subd. 5. Purposes of fund expenditures. Except as hereinafter provided, each fund shall
be expended under the direction of the county board for the construction, improvement, and
maintenance of roads and bridges in the unorganized township for which the fund was designated.
If so requested by petition signed by a majority of the resident taxpayers of any unorganized
township, the county board may expend all or part of the road and bridge fund of the unorganized
township upon roads or bridges in an adjoining organized or unorganized township.
    Subd. 6. Expenditure in certain counties. In any county having not less than 95 nor more
than 105 full and fractional townships, and having a market value of not less than $12,000,000
nor more than $21,000,000, exclusive of money and credits, the county board, by resolution,
may expend the funds provided in subdivision 4 in any organized or unorganized township
or portion thereof in such county.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 6; 1973 c 583 s 12; 1988 c 719 art 5 s 84; 1989 c 329 art 13 s
20; 1990 c 426 art 1 s 20; 1990 c 480 art 9 s 6

163.07 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.07 COUNTY HIGHWAY ENGINEER.
    Subdivision 1. Appointment. The county board of each county shall appoint and employ,
as hereinafter provided, a county highway engineer who may have charge of the highway work
of the county and the forces employed thereon, and who shall make and prepare all surveys,
estimates, plans, and specifications which are required of the engineer. The county highway
engineer may be removed by the county board during the term of office for which appointed only
for incompetency or misconduct shown after a hearing upon due notice and upon stated charges.
The burden of proving incompetency or misconduct shall rest upon the party alleging the same.
    Subd. 2. Qualifications, salary, and term. The county highway engineer shall be a registered
highway or civil engineer, registered under the laws of the state of Minnesota. The county board
may appoint a new county engineer for a term of only one year. All reappointments shall be for a
term of four years, and shall be made in May of the year in which the term expires. The county
highway engineer shall be a citizen and resident of this state. The county highway engineer's
salary shall be fixed by the county board and shall be payable the same as other county officers
are paid. The salary shall not be reduced during the county highway engineer's term of office.
    Subd. 2a. Short-term reappointment pending retirement. Notwithstanding the provisions
of subdivision 2 as to the term of office of the county highway engineer, the county board of any
county may reappoint a county highway engineer for a term of office less than four years when
such county highway engineer to be reappointed will reach the age of mandatory retirement
within the normal four-year term provided for in subdivision 2.
    Subd. 3. Leave of absence from state service. Any registered professional engineer
employed by the state when properly certified by the commissioner of transportation may be
employed as an engineer on a full-time basis for any city, county, or any other governmental
agency, and during the period of such employment and for the purposes of such employment ,
may be granted leave of absence from the state service, notwithstanding any limitation on leaves
of absence contained in the Civil Service Act.
    Subd. 4. Civil service classification. The commissioner of employee relations shall allocate
a state civil service classification to any city or county highway engineer, or an engineer of
any other governmental agency as may be from time to time requested by the commissioner
of transportation. The allocation shall be made on the same basis and subject to the same
provisions of law as pertain to engineering and similar positions in the state classified service.
The commissioner of employee relations shall give consideration to the education, professional
attainments and experience of the city, county highway engineer, or engineer of any other
governmental agency for purposes of transfer to the state service. All city, county highway
engineers, or engineers of any other governmental agency who have not less than two years
service prior to the transfer may be transferred to the state classification so allocated without
examination, but subject to a six months probationary period, in the state classified service. The
commissioner of employee relations shall establish procedure for the transfer.
    Subd. 5. Promotional examination. The commissioner of transportation may certify any city
or county highway engineer that the commissioner may deem qualified to the commissioner of
employee relations as eligible to take any specific promotional examination held for civil engineer
or civil engineering aid as classified by the state civil service commission. The service rating of
such engineer shall include past service with the state and as city or county highway engineer, if
the engineer had prior service with the state Transportation Department as a supervisory engineer.
    Subd. 6. Duties; bond. The county highway engineer shall devote the entire time to official
duties and, before entering upon the duties of office, give bond to the state in the penal sum of
$25,000, to be approved and filed in the same manner as are the bonds of the other county officers.
All premiums for the bond shall be paid by the county. The state, the several governmental
subdivisions thereof, or any person damaged by any wrongful act or omission of the county
highway engineer in the performance of official duties may maintain an action on the bond
for the recovery of the damages so sustained.
    Subd. 7. Report. The county highway engineer shall prepare and submit to the county board
annually a full and complete report covering all county highway work, and shall prepare and
submit such other reports relating to the county highway system as the county board directs.
    Subd. 8.[Repealed, 1969 c 304 s 2]
    Subd. 9. Contract for engineer services with other county. In lieu of appointing and
employing a county highway engineer in accordance with the provisions of this section, a county
may contract for the services of a county highway engineer with a county that appoints and
employs such an engineer upon such terms as are mutually agreed upon. An engineer acting as a
county highway engineer under contract for a county shall exercise every duty and responsibility
imposed by law upon a county highway engineer. A copy of each contract executed between
counties under this subdivision shall be filed in the office of the commissioner of transportation.
This subdivision shall not apply to any county containing a city of the first class.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 7; 1967 c 763 s 1,2; 1969 c 437 s 1; 1971 c 389 s 1; 1973 c 15 s
1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1973 c 507 s 45; 1976 c 166 s 7; 1980 c 617 s 47; 1986 c 444; 1992
c 505 s 2; 1Sp2003 c 19 art 2 s 15

163.08 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.08 CONSULTING ENGINEER.
Upon request of the county highway engineer the county board of any county is authorized
to employ and engage the services of registered professional engineers to act as consultants in
connection with, and to prepare plans and specifications themselves or by their organization and
employees for the construction of roads and bridges on county and county state-aid highways,
and the county board is authorized to negotiate for and agree upon the terms and compensation
for such employment and service.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 8

163.09 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.09 PAYMENT FOR LABOR AND EQUIPMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Payroll system. The county board of any county may adopt a payroll system
for the payment of claims for labor, whether skilled or unskilled, employed by the county in any
capacity in connection with the construction or maintenance of highways within the county and
for the payment of claims of persons who have furnished tractors, trucks, teams, wagons, plows,
scrapers, or any other equipment for the performance of work on the highways. The payroll shall
be in such forms and supported by such records as the state auditor prescribes. It shall contain the
name and rate of pay of each claimant together with the total amount of each claim.
    Subd. 2. Payroll preparation and certification; payment. The payroll shall be prepared by
the county engineer either monthly or semimonthly as directed by the county board. The county
highway engineer shall certify it as being true and correct and shall present it to the county
auditor for payment. It shall thereupon be lawful for the county auditor and county treasurer to
pay the claims as set forth in the payroll without allowance therefor by the county board. Upon
presentation to the county auditor of the payroll, the auditor shall forthwith issue to the several
claimants whose names appear therein a warrant in payment of their respective claims.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 9; 1973 c 492 s 14; 1986 c 444

163.10 MS 2002 [Repealed, 1Sp2003 c 1 art 2 s 136]
163.10 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]

163.11 MS 1957 [Renumbered 441.265]
163.11 POWERS RELATING TO HIGHWAYS.
    Subdivision 1. Resolution. County highways may be established, altered, vacated, or
revoked by resolution of the county board. Any public highway within the county, other than a
trunk highway, municipal state-aid street, or county state-aid highway, may be taken over as a
county highway by resolution of the county board.
    Subd. 2. Contents of resolution. The resolution shall contain a description of the highway.
In the case of a newly established highway or the alteration of a highway, the resolution shall
also contain a description of the several tracts of land through which the highway passes, the
names of all persons known by the board to be the owners and occupants of each tract, and a
description of the right-of-way, if any, needed therefor from each tract and the interest or estate
therein to be acquired.
    Subd. 3. Acquiring necessary property. All lands or properties needed for the establishment,
location, relocation, construction, reconstruction, improvement, and maintenance of a county
highway may be acquired by purchase, gift, or eminent domain proceedings as provided in
chapter 117 and acts supplemental thereto, or as in section 163.12, subdivisions 1 to 10.
    Subd. 4. Vacation. When a newly established, relocated, or altered county highway is opened
for travel which takes the place of and serves the same purpose as any portion of another county
highway, the county board may vacate any such portion of the other highway by resolution. The
board shall cause personal service of the resolution to be made upon each occupant of land
through which the vacated portions passed and shall also post notice of the resolution for at least
ten days. A copy of the resolution together with proof of service and affidavit of posting shall
be filed in the county auditor's office. Within 30 days after the service, any person claiming to
be damaged by the vacation may appeal to the district court of the county for a determination
of damages by serving notice of the appeal upon the county board and filing same with proof
of service in the office of the court administrator of the district court. The appeal shall state the
nature and the amount of damages claimed. It shall be tried in the same manner as an appeal
from an award in eminent domain proceedings.
    Subd. 4a. Designation as county cartway. A county board that has vacated a county
highway under subdivision 4 may designate, as part of the vacating resolution, the former county
highway as a county cartway. A highway designated as a county cartway is a county highway for
purposes of this chapter, but the county board may not expend money from its road and bridge
fund on the maintenance or improvement of a county cartway unless the county board determines
that the expenditure is in the public interest. With the exception of the process provided in
subdivision 5a, a county highway right-of-way that has been vacated, extinguished, or otherwise
removed from the county highway system may not revert to a town.
    Subd. 5. Revocation and reversion; vacation by city or town. The county board, by
resolution, may revoke any county highway. The highway shall thereupon revert to the town in
which it is located; provided that any such revoked highway or portion thereof lying within the
corporate limits of any city shall become a street of such city. Roads or streets or any portion
thereof so revoked and turned over to the town or city may be vacated by the town or city in the
same manner as other town roads or city streets are vacated. If the vacation occurs within one year
after the revocation by the county, damages occasioned by the vacation shall be paid by the county
out of its road and bridge fund. No award of damages shall be made by the town or city for such
vacation without the concurrence of the county board, and no action brought to recover damages
for the vacation shall be settled or otherwise disposed of without the consent of the county board.
The county board may defend any action brought to recover damages for the vacation in the same
manner and to the same extent as in a proceeding to vacate a county highway.
    Subd. 5a. Hearing on reversion to town. Before adopting a resolution revoking a county
highway that would revert in whole or in part to a town, the county board shall fix a date, time and
place of hearing in the town where the highway is located to consider the revocation. Not less
than 30 days before the hearing, the county board shall serve notice of the hearing by certified
mail on each member of the town board of supervisors. At the hearing the town board and all
interested persons shall be entitled to be heard and express their views on the proposed reversion
of the highway to the town. After the hearing the county board may adopt a resolution revoking
the highway. The resolution revoking the highway shall not be effective until the following
conditions are met:
(1) the county has completed repairs or improvements on the highway that are necessary to
meet the county standards for a comparable road in the county in which the town is located; and
(2) the county has properly recorded with the county recorder all county interest in real
estate used for the highway.
    Subd. 5b. Revoked highway; maintenance. A county highway that is revoked by a county
board to a town under this section shall be maintained by the county for a period of two years
from the date of revocation.
    Subd. 6. Prior acts confirmed. Any prior action taken by any county board revoking
any county highway and turning over such highway to any township as a town road is hereby
recognized and confirmed.
    Subd. 7. Extinguishing interest in abandoned highway. (a) The county board may by
resolution and without other action pursuant to this section or other law disclaim and extinguish a
county interest in a county highway if:
(1) the interest is not a fee interest;
(2) the interest was established more than 40 years earlier;
(3) the interest is not recorded with the county recorder;
(4) no highway improvement has been constructed on a right-of-way affected by the interest;
and
(5) no highway maintenance on a right-of-way affected by the interest has occurred within
the last 40 years.
(b) The resolution shall be filed and recorded with the county auditor and recorder, and with
the local governing body of any organized township or municipality.
    Subd. 8. Extinguishing interest in highway abutting public water; notice. Not less than
30 days before the hearing on any resolution to vacate, disclaim, or extinguish a county highway
or an interest in a county highway that terminates at or abuts upon any public water, the county
board shall serve notice of the hearing by certified mail on the commissioner of natural resources.
The notice under this subdivision is for notification purposes only and does not create a right of
intervention by the commissioner of natural resources.
    Subd. 9. Transfer of jurisdiction over county highway. Notwithstanding subdivision
5, the county board may transfer jurisdiction and ownership of a county highway to another
road authority, an agency of the United States, an agency of the state, or to an Indian tribe upon
agreement between the county and the authority, agency, or tribe to which the transfer is being
made. Subdivision 5a provides the exclusive method of county highway reversion to towns.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 11; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1978 c 460 s 1; 1978 c 674 s 60; 1980 c
402 s 1; 1983 c 125 s 1; 1985 c 169 s 3,4; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1989 c 183 s 2;
1994 c 436 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 19 art 2 s 16,17

163.111 DRAINAGE FACILITY, VACATION.
On consideration of a petition for vacation of a county highway, the county board shall
determine whether the lateral ditches of said highway are essential for surface drainage of adjacent
lands, or for drainage of public highways, in the area. If the board finds that preservation of such
drainage facilities is for the general health and welfare of the public, then the board may cause
the highway to be vacated with a provision that the county shall retain the right of access for the
purpose of maintaining such drainage facilities. An owner of land adjacent to the vacated portion
of the highway shall not interfere with the functioning of such drainage facilities.
History: 1967 c 723 s 2

163.12 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.12 ALTERNATIVE PROCEDURE FOR ACQUISITION.
    Subdivision 1. County board may elect. If the county board so elects, it may adopt the
procedure hereinafter set forth for the acquisition of lands or properties needed for the acquisition
or alteration of a county highway and county state-aid highways.
    Subd. 1a. Petition, notice, and access to information. (a) Upon passage of the resolution
specified in section 163.11, subdivision 2, a petition must be presented to the district court of the
county in which the land is located. The petition must describe each tract of land through which
the highway passes, state the purposes for which the land is proposed to be taken, and list the
names of all persons appearing of record or known to the county to be the landowners.
(b) Notice of the objects of the petition and of the time and place of presenting the notice
must be served, together with a copy of the resolution, upon each occupant of each tract of land
through which the highway passes at least 20 days before the hearing under subdivision 1b. If an
owner is not a resident of the state, or the owner's place of residence is unknown to the county,
service may be made by three weeks' published notice following the filing of an affidavit on
behalf of the county by the county's agent or attorney stating that the county:
(1) believes that the owner is not a resident of the state; and
(2) has either mailed a copy of the notice to the owner at the owner's last known residence
address or, after diligent inquiry, the owner's place of residence cannot be ascertained by the
county.
If the state is an owner, the notice must be served upon the attorney general. An owner not served
as provided in this subdivision is not bound by the proceeding, except if the owner voluntarily
appears in the proceeding.
(c) Within ten days of an owner's demand, the owner must be furnished a right-of-way map
or plat of all that part of the owner's land to be taken. Any applicable plans or profiles that the
county possesses must be made available to the owner for inspection.
    Subd. 1b. Finding of necessity. When proof of service of the notice required in subdivision
1a is filed with the court, the court shall hear all competent evidence offered for or against
granting the petition at the time and place fixed in the notice or otherwise set by the court. On
finding that the proposed taking is necessary and authorized by law the court shall order the
proceedings to commence pursuant to the remaining provisions of this section.
    Subd. 2. Time and place for hearing. Upon order by the court under subdivision 1b to
commence the proceedings the board shall fix the time and place it will meet. Notice of the
meeting, together with a copy of the resolution, shall be served upon each occupant of each
tract of land through which the highway passes at least ten days before the meeting. Ten days'
posted notice of the meeting shall also be given. Proof of service and affidavit of posting shall be
filed with the county auditor.
    Subd. 3. Hearing. The county board shall meet at the time and place designated and shall
proceed to view the premises affected. It shall hear all interested parties regarding damages
occasioned by the establishment or alteration of the highway.
    Subd. 4. Damages may be determined by written agreement. The damages may be
determined by written agreement. Every such agreement shall be filed with the county auditor and
shall be final as to the matters therein contained.
    Subd. 5. County board's determination of damages. The county board shall determine the
damages of those with whom no agreement can be reached or who are unknown. In making the
determination the board shall deduct from the damages sustained by each tract the money value of
the benefits, if any, accruing thereto, and award the difference as damages.
    Subd. 6. Awards filed; notification. The award of damages shall be filed with the county
auditor. Within seven days after filing the county auditor shall notify, in writing, each known
owner and occupant of each tract of the filing of the awards. The notification shall set forth the
date of the filing, the amount of the award of damages and any terms or conditions of the award.
    Subd. 7. Appeal from award. Within 40 days after the filing of the award of damages, any
owner or occupant may appeal from the award by filing a notice of the appeal with the court
administrator of the district court of the county where the lands lie. The notice of appeal shall be
accompanied by a bond of not less than $250, with sufficient surety approved by the judge or
by the county auditor, conditioned to pay all costs arising from the appeal in case the award is
sustained. A copy of the notice together with a copy of the bond shall be served upon the county
auditor. The notice of appeal shall specify the award or failure to award appealed from, the land to
which it relates, the nature and amount of the claim of appellant, and the grounds of the appeal.
    Subd. 8. Right to jury trial. The appeal shall be entered upon the calendar for trial at the
next general term of court occurring more than 20 days after the appeal is perfected. It shall be
tried in the same manner as an appeal in eminent domain proceedings under chapter 117. The
prevailing party shall recover costs and disbursements to be fixed and allowed as in other civil
cases and judgment shall be entered upon the verdict.
    Subd. 9. Payment. Upon stipulation in lieu of judgment or upon final judgment, the county
board shall promptly pay the amount so stipulated or the amount of the judgment. If no appeal
is taken from an award, the county board shall pay the award within 20 days after the time for
appeal has expired. The duty of the county board to pay the award or final judgment shall be held
and construed to be just compensation or the securing of just compensation within the meaning
of the Constitution.
    Subd. 10. Appeal not to delay prosecution of improvement. After the award of damages
has been filed, the board may proceed to open, construct, alter, or change the highway. An appeal
from the award of damages shall not delay the prosecution of the proposed improvement, and
the county board may proceed as if no appeal had been taken.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 12; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 2001 c 139 s 1-3

163.13 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.13 PETITION FOR HIGHWAY OR PORTAGE.
    Subdivision 1. Contents of petition. Any person who owns real estate in a county may
petition the county board to establish, alter, or vacate a county highway or portage. The petition
shall set forth the beginning, course, and termination of the highway or portage with reasonable
definiteness. It shall be filed with the county auditor and shall be considered at the next regular
county board meeting. The board shall hear all interested persons at that meeting or at such
continued meetings as the board deems necessary.
    Subd. 2. Resolution of county board, procedure. After investigating the matters contained
in the petition, and after hearing all interested persons, the board, by resolution, shall make its
determination. If it determines to grant the petition it shall proceed as provided in section 163.11
or as provided in section 163.12.
    Subd. 3. Appeal. If the board denies the petition, any person aggrieved thereby, within 30
days after the denial, may appeal to the district court of the county by filing a notice of appeal
with the court administrator of the district court, together with a bond of not less than $250, with
sufficient surety approved by the judge or by the county auditor, conditioned to pay all costs
arising from the appeal in case the determination of the board is sustained. A copy of the notice of
appeal shall be served on the county auditor.
    Subd. 4. Trial. The appeal shall be entered upon the calendar for trial at the next general
term of the court occurring more than 20 days after the appeal is perfected. The determination
of the board shall not be reversed except upon a showing of arbitrary, capricious or fraudulent
action. The prevailing party shall be entitled to costs and disbursements to be fixed and allowed as
in other civil cases.
    Subd. 5. Board procedure on reversal. If the determination of the board is reversed, it shall
proceed in accordance with the decision of the court.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 13; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82

163.131 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]

163.132 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]

163.14 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.14 JOINT COUNTY AGREEMENT ON COSTS OF SHARED HIGHWAY.
    Subdivision 1. Joint resolution. The county boards of two or more counties by joint
resolution, may establish, alter, improve, or vacate a county highway running into or through such
counties or running on or along the line between such counties.
    Subd. 2. Agreement for division of costs. Such county boards, in behalf of their respective
counties, may enter into agreements with each other providing for an equitable division of the
costs to be borne by each for the right-of-way, construction, improvement, or vacation of the
highway. If the agreement provides for the establishment or alteration of a highway, the agreement
may provide for the letting of a joint construction contract covering all or part of the work to be
performed on the highway.
    Subd. 3. Procedure. The joint resolution shall contain the same matters required in section
163.11, subdivision 2. Upon passage of the joint resolution the boards shall thereafter proceed
in the manner and subject to the same review provided in section 163.11 or as provided in
section 163.12.
    Subd. 4. Maintenance. Each county shall maintain the portion of the highway lying within
its boundaries. If the highway runs along the line between the counties, the county boards may
enter into an agreement providing for the maintenance by each county of specified portions of the
highway. The highway shall thereafter be maintained in accordance with the agreement.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 14

163.15 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.15 BRIDGE ACROSS DIVERSION CHANNEL.
Whenever any county has been authorized by the commissioner of natural resources to divert
the channel of a navigable stream for the purpose of improving a county road and the board of
commissioners of such county has by resolution ordered diversion of the navigable stream across
private property so that the stream and the channel thereof when so diverted deprives the owner of
the private property of access to the county road, the owner of the private property may grant to
the county a perpetual easement for road purposes across that private property commencing at
a point 50 feet distant from the relocated or diversion channel, thence crossing the relocated or
diversion channel and intersecting the county road so to be improved; and the road easement shall
extend for a distance of two rods on each side of the centerline thereof and be and remain a public
road. The county shall forthwith establish and construct a highway upon the strip of land pursuant
to law, build a suitable bridge, including approaches thereto, across the channel, and at public
expense thenceforth maintain the road and bridge so established in a safe condition so as to afford
the owner of the private property access to the improved county road.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 15; 1969 c 1129 art 3 s 1; 1986 c 444

163.16 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.16 IMPASSABLE ROAD.
    Subdivision 1. Complaint. When a written complaint, signed by five or more landowners
of any town is presented to the county board stating that a described town road in or on the line
of the town has not been opened and constructed or is not properly maintained, and because of
such neglect is not reasonably passable, the county board by resolution, shall fix a time and place
for hearing the complaint. The county auditor shall mail a copy of the complaint, together with
notice of the time and place of hearing on the complaint, to the town clerk. All persons signing the
complaint shall also be notified of the time and place of the hearing by the county auditor.
    Subd. 2. Hearing on complaint. At the designated time and place the county board shall
consider the complaint and hear and consider such testimony as may be offered by the officers
of the town and the complainants relative to the matters set forth in the complaint. The chair of
the county board, or the presiding officer thereof, may administer oaths to witnesses and require
them to testify under oath. The county board may drive over the road and make such further
investigations as it deems necessary.
    Subd. 3. Determination, statement of costs, payment. If upon the hearing and investigation
the county board shall be of the opinion that the complaint is well founded, it shall by resolution
direct the town board to do such work or to make such improvements as it shall deem necessary
to put the road in a passable condition. The resolution shall specify generally the work which is
deemed necessary. The county auditor shall cause a copy of the resolution to be mailed to the
clerk of the town. If the town for a period of 30 days after the mailing of the notice, fails or
neglects to do the work or make the improvements set forth in the resolution, the county board
may cause the work to be done or the improvements made, and the cost thereof shall be paid from
the county road and bridge fund; provided that no such work shall be performed by the county
when the cost thereof exceeds $3,000 per mile.
    Subd. 4. Statement of cost; tax levy. When any county board shall have performed any
work or made any improvement on any such road, it shall cause to be prepared in duplicate an
itemized statement of the cost of the work or improvement. The statement shall be filed with the
county auditor and a copy thereof shall be mailed by the county auditor to the clerk of the town.
The town clerk shall forthwith notify the several members of the town board that such a statement
has been filed and that a meeting of the town board to act thereon will be held at a time to be
specified in the notice, not later than ten days after the receipt of the notice from the county
auditor. The town board shall meet at the time and place specified in the notice so given by the
clerk and levy a special tax upon all the taxable property in the town in an amount sufficient to
pay the amount expended by the county in performing the work or making the improvement. The
tax so levied shall be certified to the county auditor on or before October 15 next succeeding, and
the county auditor shall extend the same with other town taxes upon the tax list of the town. If
the town board shall for any reason fail to act as herein provided, the county auditor is hereby
authorized and directed to levy the tax and extend the same with other town taxes upon the tax list
of the town. The tax shall be collected and the payment thereof enforced in the same manner and
subject to the same penalties and interest as other town taxes. When collected the tax shall be paid
into the county treasury and credited to the county road and bridge fund.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 16; 1986 c 444; 2004 c 228 art 2 s 3

163.161 IMPASSABLE CITY THOROUGHFARE.
When a written complaint signed by five or more landowners of a statutory city of not
more than 5,000 population is presented to the county board stating that a city thoroughfare
located outside an urban area as defined in section 169.01, subdivision 59, has not been properly
maintained and because of the improper maintenance is not reasonably passable, the county
board shall consider and act upon the complaint in the same manner provided for a complaint
under section 163.16.
History: 1986 c 454 s 9; 2004 c 228 art 2 s 4

163.17 MS 1957 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]
163.17 DRAINAGE SYSTEM AFFECTING HIGHWAY; ALTERATION.
Upon the filing of a resolution by the county board of any county with the county auditor, in
the case of a public ditch system lying wholly within a county, or with the court administrator of
the district court having jurisdiction over said ditch in the case of a ditch system affecting two or
more counties, therein setting forth that it would be advantageous or desirable in the construction
or maintenance of a highway under the jurisdiction of the county to make a minor alteration or
change in a public ditch system directly affecting the highway, and that the alteration or change
will not affect the functioning or efficiency of the ditch system, it shall be the duty of the auditor,
or the clerk with the approval of the judge, to fix a time and place for hearing thereon and to give
notice of hearing by publication as defined by section 103E.005, subdivision 24. Upon the filing
of the resolution, the board shall also cause to be filed a plan showing in detail the alteration or
change therein described. If upon the hearing it shall appear to the county board or district court
that the alteration or change in the public ditch system will not affect or impair the efficiency
of the ditch system, the board or court shall make its order authorizing the county to cause the
alteration or change to be made. Upon the making of the order by the county board or the court,
the county board may proceed at the sole cost and expense of the county to make the alterations
or changes as may be in the order allowed; damages, if any, occasioned thereby being first duly
paid or secured by the county. Upon completion of the alteration or change, the county board
shall cause to be filed with the auditor or court administrator a map and profile drawn to scale
showing thereon the change or alteration made. If the map and profile be filed with the court
administrator, duplicates thereof shall also be filed with the auditor of each county affected.
Upon the completion of the alteration or change herein provided for, the ditch shall thereafter
include the alteration or change as part thereof with the same force and effect as though it had
been originally so constructed and established.
History: 1959 c 500 art 4 s 17; 1985 c 172 s 126; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 1990 c 391
art 8 s 31

163.18 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]

163.19 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]

163.191 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]

163.20 [Repealed, 1959 c 500 art 6 s 13]