CHAPTER 80
LAYING HIGHWAYS
80.01 Creation, alteration and validation of highways.
80.02 Town highways; petition to lay, alter or discontinue.
80.025 Highways abutted by state park lands; discontinuance or relocation.
80.03 Restrictions on condemning for town highways.
80.04 When supervisor disqualified; vacancies.
80.05 Notice of meeting; service and publication.
80.06 Proceedings after notice.
80.07 Order; survey; award; recording; presumptions.
80.09 Damages; agreement, award.
80.10 Considerations affecting damages.
80.11 Highways on and across town lines.
80.12 Highways on and across town and municipal boundaries.
80.125 Highways and bridges on state boundaries.
80.13 Land excluded from highway.
80.14 Highway from shut-off land through adjoining town.
80.15 Highway to islands in Mississippi river.
80.16 Shut-off school buildings; how laid.
80.17 Appeal from highway order.
80.22 Determination final for a year unless appealed.
80.23 Removal of fences from highway; notice.
80.24 Appeal from award of damages by owner.
80.25 Taxpayer may appeal; service of notice.
80.27 Selection of jury; penalty for refusal to serve.
80.28 Proceedings before jury; costs.
80.29 Appeal costs; jurors' fees.
80.30 Highway damages; when payable, referendum to town meeting.
80.31 Unclaimed awards; mortgage and lien interest.
80.32 Discontinuance of highways; reversion of title.
80.33 Highway papers, where filed.
80.34 Highway orders; presumptions; limitation of actions.
80.37 Lost records; how restored; effect.
80.38 Changing streets into highways.
80.39 County board power to lay, alter and discontinue town highways.
80.40 Control of highways laid by county.
80.41 Discontinuing ways to waters.
80.47 Rights of abutting owners.
80.48 Highways and streets to cemeteries and fairgrounds.
80.64 Widening of highways; establishment of excess widths.
80.01
80.01
Creation, alteration and validation of highways. 80.01(1)(1)
Validation of highways, recording. All highways laid out by the town supervisors, the county board or by a committee of the board, or by commissioners appointed by the legislature, or by any other authority, and recorded, any portion of which has been opened and worked for 3 years are legal highways so far as they have been so opened and worked. The filing of an order laying out any highway or a certified copy thereof in the office of the clerk of the town or the county in which the highway is situated is a recording of such highway within the meaning of this section.
80.01(2)
(2) Unrecorded highways validated, exception; grants for highway purposes, presumptive width. All highways not recorded which have been worked as public highways 10 years or more are public highways, and are presumed to be 4 rods wide, except that roads and bridges built upon the bottoms and sloughs of the Mississippi river by citizens or municipalities of any other state shall not become legal highways or a charge upon the town in which they are situated unless upon petition they are legally laid out by the town supervisors; nor shall any grant of lands for highway purposes, which has not become a legal highway prior to the first day of July, 1913, become effective for such purposes, unless the grant is accepted by the town board or by the town meeting of the town wherein the lands and proposed highway are situated, and until a resolution of such acceptance is recorded in the office of the town clerk; and in case any such laid out highways have not been fully and sufficiently described or recorded or if the records have been lost or destroyed the presumption shall be that they were laid 4 rods wide.
80.01(3)
(3) Beautification and protection. No lands abutting on any highway, and acquired or held for highway purposes, shall be deemed discontinued for such purpose so long as they abut on any highway. All lands acquired for highway purposes after June 23, 1931 may be used for any purpose that the public authorities in control of such highway shall deem to conduce to the public use and enjoyment thereof. Such authorities may improve such lands by suitable planting, to prevent the erosion of the soil or to beautify the highway. The right to protect and to plant vegetation in any highway laid out prior to said date may be acquired in any manner that lands may be acquired for highway purposes. It shall be unlawful for any person to injure any tree or shrub, or cut or trim any vegetation, or make any excavation in any highway laid out after said date or where the right to protect vegetation has been acquired, without the consent of the highway authorities and under their direction but such authorities shall remove, cut or trim or consent to the removing, cutting or removal of any tree, shrub or vegetation in order to provide safety to users of the highway.
80.01(4)
(4) Highways, streets and alleys, piers, plats, curative provisions. Every street, highway and alley, pier and slip, dedicated or attempted and intended to be dedicated in any plat or laid out, altered, vacated or discontinued, or attempted or intended to be laid out, altered, vacated or discontinued by the authorities of any county, town, city or village shall be held to have been lawfully so dedicated, laid out, altered, vacated or discontinued from and after the expiration of 5 years from the date of the deed, instrument, plat, order, resolution or other final proceeding had or taken to effectuate such purpose. No defect, omission or informality in the execution of any plat or deed of dedication or in any proceedings, order or resolution on the part of such authorities for the purposes aforesaid shall affect or invalidate such plat, deed, order or resolution or proceeding, after the expiration of 5 years from the date of the plat, deed, proceeding, order or resolution; provided, the street or alley laid out, or altered by such defective, or informal plat, deed, proceeding, order or resolution, shall be limited in length to the portion actually worked and used thereunder.
80.01(5)
(5) Effect of reservation or exception in conveyance. Whenever a deed, land contract or mortgage of lands abutting on an existing public street, highway or alley or a projected extension thereof hereafter executed and recorded contains language reserving or excepting certain lands for street, highway or alley purposes, such reservation or exception shall constitute a dedication for such purpose to the public body having jurisdiction over such highway, street, alley or projected extension thereof, unless the language of such reservation or exception plainly indicates an intent to create a private way. Such dedication may be accepted by resolution of the governing body having jurisdiction over such street, highway, alley or projected extension thereof.
80.01 Annotation
Where government unit shows public use of road for 20 years or public maintenance for 10 years, landowner claiming that road is private has burden of proving permissive use. Ruchti v. Monroe, 83 W (2d) 551, 266 NW (2d) 309 (1978).
80.01 Annotation
Municipalities may incur liability under (3) for failure to trim vegetation obstructing view at intersection. Walker v. Bignell, 100 W (2d) 256, 301 NW (2d) 447 (1981).
80.01 Annotation
If a highway was established by user, the existence of ancient fences within 2 rods either side of the center of the highway is sufficient to rebut the sub. (2) presumption that the highway is 4 rods in width. Threlfell v. Town of Muscoda, 190 W (2d) 121, 527 NW (2d) 367 (Ct. App. 1994).
80.01 Annotation
The test for whether a highway has been "worked" under sub. (2) is whether the work demonstrates the public's ownership of the road so that the public use of the road is not merely permissive. Continuous work on a road by a public entity is more likely to demonstrate ownership than sporadic work. County of Langlade v. Kaster, 202 W (2d) 449, 550 NW (2d) 722 (Ct. App. 1996).
80.01 Annotation
Rights-of-way boundaries of nondedicated roads discussed. 69 Atty. Gen. 87.
80.02
80.02
Town highways; petition to lay, alter or discontinue. When 6 or more resident freeholders wish to have a highway laid out, widened, altered or discontinued in their town, they may make application in writing to the supervisors of said town for that purpose. The application may be delivered to any supervisor or to the town clerk. In case the application is for the discontinuance of all or of a part of any highway, and it is desired, as permitted by
s. 80.05, to omit from the notice the description of the lands abutting upon such highway which will be benefited, injured or damaged by the discontinuance of such highway or any part thereof, the application shall contain the description of the lands abutting upon such highway which will be benefited, injured or damaged by the discontinuance of such highway or any part thereof and shall be delivered to the town clerk with a request in writing that such application remain on file with the clerk until the time set for hearing for reference and inspection by any parties concerned. When all the owners of lands abutting on the part of a highway sought to be altered, desire such alteration, and the supervisors are of the opinion that the public will not be materially affected by such alteration, the board may make the same, and may take into consideration donations of money, land or services for the making of such alterations. When the laying out of a highway would require the construction of a bridge costing more than $1,000, exclusive of donations, the order of the supervisors laying out such highway shall not be effective unless approved by the electors of the town, and an estimate by the department of transportation shall be conclusive of the cost of such bridge for the purposes of this section. No town board shall discontinue any part of a state trunk or county trunk highway, nor discontinue any highway when such discontinuance would deprive the owner of lands of access therefrom to a highway.
80.025
80.025
Highways abutted by state park lands; discontinuance or relocation. Any part of a highway lying wholly within state park lands may be discontinued or relocated by the state agency having jurisdiction over such abutting lands by filing written notice of such discontinuance or relocation with the town clerk or county clerk and upon approval by the supervisors after holding a hearing as provided in
s. 80.05 unless such discontinuance or relocation would deprive any other owner of lands access thereto from a highway. This section does not apply to state trunk highways or connecting highways.
