PART I. HIGHWAYS, GENERALLY

 

§264-1  Public highways and trails.  (a) All roads, alleys, streets, ways, lanes, bikeways, bridges, and all other realproperty highway related interests in the State, opened, laid out, subdivided,consolidated, and acquired and built by the government are declared to bepublic highways.  Public highways are of two types:

(1)  State highways, which are those lands, interests,or other real property rights, as defined above, having an alignment orpossession of a real property highway related interest as established by law,subdivided and acquired in accordance with policies and procedures of thedepartment of transportation, separate and exempt from any county subdivisionordinances, and all those under the jurisdiction of the department oftransportation; and

(2)  County highways, which are all other publichighways.

(b)  All trails, and other nonvehicularrights-of-way in the State declared to be public rights-of-ways by the HighwaysAct of 1892, or opened, laid out, or built by the government or otherwisecreated or vested as nonvehicular public rights-of-way at any time thereafter,or in the future, are declared to be public trails.  A public trail is underthe jurisdiction of the state board of land and natural resources unless it wascreated by or dedicated to a particular county, in which case it shall be underthe jurisdiction of that county.

(c)  All roads, alleys, streets, ways, lanes,trails, bikeways, and bridges in the State, opened, laid out, or built byprivate parties and dedicated or surrendered to the public use, are declared tobe public highways or public trails as follows:

(1)  Dedication of public highways or trails shall beby deed of conveyance naming the State as grantee in the case of a statehighway or trail and naming the county as grantee in the case of a countyhighway or trail.  The deed of conveyance shall be delivered to and accepted bythe director of transportation in the case of a state highway or the board ofland and natural resources in the case of a state trail.  In the case of acounty highway or county trail, the deed shall be delivered to and accepted bythe legislative body of a county.

(2)  Surrender of public highways or trails shall bedeemed to have taken place if no act of ownership by the owner of the road,alley, street, bikeway, way, lane, trail, or bridge has been exercised for fiveyears and when, in the case of a county highway, in addition thereto, thelegislative body of the county has, thereafter, by a resolution, adopted thesame as a county highway or trail.

In every case where the road, alley, street,bikeway, way, lane, trail, bridge, or highway is constructed and completed asrequired by any ordinance of the county or any rule, regulation, or resolutionthereof having the effect of law, the legislative body of the county shallaccept the dedication or surrender of the same without exercise of discretion.

(d)  All county public highways and trails onceestablished shall continue until vacated, closed, abandoned, or discontinued bya resolution of the legislative body of the county wherein the county highwayor trail lies.  All state trails once established shall continue until lawfullydisposed of pursuant to the requirements of chapter 171. [L 1892, c 47, §2; RL1945, §6111; am L 1947, c 142, pt of §1; am L 1949, c 74, §2; RL 1955, §142-1;am L 1957, c 155, §1; am L 1963, c 190, §1; HRS §264-1; am L 1977, c 68, §4; amL 1988, c 150, §1; am L 2008, c 12, §1]

 

Cross References

 

  Construction of facilities for physically handicappedpersons, see §286-9.

  Highways, maintenance, see §27-31.

 

Attorney General Opinions

 

  Public highway does not include proposed road not yetconstructed.  Att. Gen. Op. 63-54.

 

Case Notes

 

  In absence of statute no particular form or ceremony isrequisite in the dedication.  2 H. 118.

  Defendant claiming right-of-way as a public highway cannotextend such right by using path in different or enlarged manner than usualcustom.  2 H. 307.

  Implied consent.  17 H. 523.

  Territory cannot acquire fee in public highway by legislativeenactment; only by condemnation or consent of owner.  17 H. 523.

  A public highway can be closed only by the method prescribedby statute.  19 H. 168.

  Lease of public land does not extinguish a highway existingacross it.  19 H. 168.

  Park road not public.  38 H. 592.

  Seawall used as a public thoroughfare is included in term"public highways".  50 H. 497, 443 P.2d 142.

  State which holds open a public thoroughfare for travel hasduty to maintain it in condition safe for travel.  50 H. 497, 443 P.2d 142.

  Ownership of fee underlying a road built by private partiesand abandoned to the public.  50 H. 567, 445 P.2d 538.

  Implied dedication by designation of roadways on subdivisionmaps.  55 H. 305, 517 P.2d 779.

  A responsible government has a duty to keep its highways insafe condition.  57 H. 656, 562 P.2d 436.

  Not applicable where trustees did not build or lay out atrail to the general public.  73 H. 297, 832 P.2d 724.

  A highway is not a county highway unless it is accepted oradopted as such by the county council.  2 H. App. 387, 633 P.2d 1118; 6 H. App.414, 724 P.2d 118.

  A public highway is not a state highway unless it isdesignated for inclusion in the state highway system under §264-41.  2 H. App.387, 633 P.2d 1118.

  Cited:  29 H. 820, 822, aff'd 188 F.2d 459.