Section lines considered public roads open for public travel - Closing same under certain conditions
N.D. Cent. Code § 24-07-03
in effect24-07-03. Section lines considered public roads open for public travel - Closing same
under certain conditions.
In all townships in this state, outside the limits of incorporated cities, and outside platted
townsites, additions, or subdivisions recorded pursuant to sections 40-50.1-01 through
40-50.1-17 or recorded prior to July 1, 1987, under former chapter 40-50, the congressional
section lines are considered public roads open for public travel to the width of thirty-three feet
[10.06 meters] on each side of the section lines.
The board of county commissioners, if petitioned by a person having an interest in the
adjoining land or a portion thereof, after public hearing and a finding by the commissioners of
public benefit, may close section lines or portions thereof which are not used for ten years, are
not traveled due to natural obstacles or difficulty of terrain, are not required due to readily
accessible alternate routes of travel, or are intersected by interstate highways causing the
section line to be a deadend, providing the closing of the dead-end section line does not deprive
adjacent landowners access to the landowners' property. After the section lines are closed, they
may be used to the benefit of the adjacent landowners. However, survey or property reference
monuments may not be disturbed, removed, or destroyed. If drainage is interfered with due to
the farming operations, alternate means of drainage must be provided for by the landowners or
tenants farming the lands.
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t24c07.pdf#nameddest=24-07-03Fetched: 10/16/2026