68-128a. Highways through pastures; maintenance, auto gates and passes; cost; liability for damages to livestock.
68-128a
68-128a. Highways through pastures; maintenance, auto gates andpasses; cost; liability for damages to livestock.(a) Whenever by license or custom the public is permitted to travelthrough any pasture lands enclosed by fences, and the owner or owners ofsuch land shall give their consent in writing to the designation and layingout of a road across such lands, the board of county commissioners maydesignate such road as a public highway. After such road has been regularlydesignated or laid out as a public road it shall be improved and maintainedin the manner and by use of the funds now provided for improving andmaintaining other public roads, and the municipality charged with theimprovement and maintenance of such road may construct convenient autogates or automobile passes, or both, and pay the cost of maintenancethereof out of road maintenance funds of such municipality.
(b) Where travel is through pasture lands lying west of range 15 west ofthe sixth principal meridian, the township board of any township or thecounty commissioners of any county in which any such pasture land is whollyor partially located may construct convenient auto gates or auto passes, orboth, and pay the cost and maintenance thereof out of road funds withoutdesignating such road as a public highway; and upon petition signed bytwenty (20) or more legal voters of a township asking the board for a roadof convenience through pasture land, to be confined to section lines, thetownship board or county commissioners, as the case may be, may constructand maintain necessary auto gates or passes.
Any user of such a road shall be personally liable for any damages tolivestock caused by him while traveling such road, and no liability shallbe incurred by the county, township, or landowner.
History: L. 1929, ch. 231, § 1; L. 1961, ch. 299, § 10; June 30.