LEGAL ELEMENTS OF BOUNDARIES ABUTTING ROADS

Boundaries of land abutting a road depend on the manner in which the road was created. In the absence of public ownership of the fee, the abutting owners are presumed to own the fee to the centerline of a highway. The vast majority of land encountered by the land surveyor abuts at least on one side an existing or proposed street or highway. Not uncommonly the wording of the deed which describes the road boundary is ambiguous or vague. The result of the uncertainty in the description is uncertainty for the surveyor in the correct retracement of both the road boundary itself and other lines described with reference to the road. Correct retracement of the road boundary depends on two things: the intent of the parties as expressed in the writings which describe the road boundary, and the physical evidence on the ground which witnesses this intent. The physical evidence is located mathematically by field survey. The relation of the physical evidence to the evidence of record, however, may be evaluated in terms of the case (or common) law which deals with the location of property boundaries abutting a road.

• Corporate Authors:

  American Congress on Surveying and Mapping

  5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 100
  Bethesda, MD  United States  20814
• Authors:
  • Kellie, A C
• Publication Date: 1983-12

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: p. 359-363
• Serial:
  • Surveying and Mapping
  • Volume: 43
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: American Congress on Surveying and Mapping

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Highways; Land; Legal factors; Legislation; Regional planning; Roads; Surveying; Zoning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Boundaries
• Old TRIS Terms: Adjacent land areas; Highway systems; Land abutments
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00387022
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Engineering Index
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 30 1984 12:00AM