Request By:
Hon. Frank H. McCartney
Fleming County Attorney
Fleming County Courthouse
Flemingsburg, Kentucky 41041
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; Eileen Walsh, Assistant Attorney General
You question whether or not there can be such a thing as a gated county road. It would appear not. Under KRS 179.240 the owner or occupant of land situated along a public road shall remove from the right-of-way, all obstructions, including fences, which have been placed there either by himself or by his consent. Further, the county road engineer shall remove trees or other obstacles from the right-of-way of any public road when they become a hazard to traffic. See KRS 197.070(10). Therefore, it would appear that the county may force the removal of a gate obstructing a county road even though the gate has been there a long period of time. Further, it would appear that a fiscal court could not agree to keep a county road "gated" as this would be in violation of the above-mentioned mandatory statutes.