RRooaadd LLaaww HHaannddbbooookk Road Creation and Abandonment Law in Idaho Christopher H. Meyer, Esq. GIVENS PURSLEY LLP 601 West Bannock Street Boise, ID 83702 Office: 208-388-1236 Fax: 208-388-1300
[email protected] www.givenspursley.com April 14, 2021 CHAPTER INDEX I. PUBLIC ROAD CREATION ...................................................................................................................... 1 A. Overview .................................................................................................................................. 1 1. Methods of public road creation ................................................................................. 1 2. Terminology — roads, highways, and rights-of-way; abandonment and vacation ....................................................................................................................... 5 3. Private prescriptive use rights based on adverse possession ....................................... 6 4. Roads may be administered by cities, counties, or highway districts. ........................ 8 5. Confusion over the label “commissioners.” ................................................................ 9 B. Blanket legislative declaration (aka legislative fiat) (pre-1881 roads)................................... 10 C. Idaho’s public road creation statute (formal declaration and prescription) ............................ 11 1. Overview ................................................................................................................... 11 2.