{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-646","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 69, § 69-646","heading":"Condemnation procedure - Indian or federal lands","body":"A. The board of county commissioners may open, establish,\n\nreserve or condemn roads on section lines and may vacate, alter,\n\nwiden, change or lay out other new roads according to the following\n\nprocedure:\n\n1. A proposal for action to vacate, alter, widen, change or\n\nlocate a road shall be upon a petition to the board of county\n\ncommissioners signed by at least twelve freeholders residing in the\n\nvicinity of the road affected or by resolution of the board of\n\ncounty commissioners;\n\n2. The petition shall state the proposed action and clearly\n\nshow on a map of the area the location and terminals of the road.\n\nIf the petition is in proper form, the board of county commissioners\n\nshall promptly investigate the proposal to determine if the petition\n\nhas merit;\n\n3. The board of county commissioners may conclude, upon\n\ninvestigation, that action concerning the road is unnecessary and\n\nimpractical and deny the petition. Should the board determine that\n\nthe petition has merit, the board shall set the date of the hearing\n\nand provide notice as prescribed by this section;\n\n4. At such time it is determined that the petition has merit,\n\nthe board of county commissioners shall set a hearing date. The\n\ncounty clerk shall then notify those landowners whose property is\n\nimmediately affected by the road, in such a way that the road may\n\ncross their property, abut to their property, or in some manner\n\nprovide ingress or egress to their property. The notice shall be\n\ngiven by regular mail at least twenty-one days (21) prior to the\n\nhearing date;\n\n5. Legal notice to the public shall be given by advertisement\n\nin a newspaper of general circulation in the county setting forth\n\nthe facts and the date when the hearing will be held and the\n\npetition acted upon. The notice shall be published once per week\n\nfor three (3) consecutive weeks at least twenty-one (21) days prior\n\nto the hearing date. A record of all such proceedings shall be made\n\nby the county clerk;\n\nB. In a petition proposing that a road be altered, widened,\n\nchanged or located where the owners of the land to be taken agree in\n\nwriting to the proposed location or changes by providing an easement\n\nto the county for such purpose, or donate the land required, the\n\nboard of county commissioners shall then cause to be prepared a cost\n\nestimate for the proposed project. The cost estimate shall include\n\nthe cost to survey the road or the proposed changes. If the\n\nestimated cost is reasonable and the road or the proposed changes\n\nserve the general public by providing a better route or by\n\neliminating a hazard making the route safer, the board of county\n\ncommissioners may order and establish the road as a county highway,\n\nor order the proposed changes to be made and make the appropriate\n\nrecord thereof. However, no work shall be performed until a survey\n\nis completed and easements secured. If the board determines that\n\nthe expense cannot be justified in whole or in part, the board may\n\norder that the petitioners must bear the responsibility to\n\nadequately fund the proposed action in whole or in part. If\n\neasements are not granted freely, the easements shall be obtained in\n\nthe manner provided by law and shall be considered in the cost\n\nestimate of the proposed action.\n\nC. In a petition proposing that a road be vacated, the board of\n\ncounty commissioners shall, upon receiving the petition, attest that\n\naccording to their records the road in question is within their\n\njurisdiction and is considered to be open for use by the general\n\npublic, through grant or ownership, by easement or dedication, by\n\nadverse possession, or by open and notorious use, regardless of the\n\nfrequency of maintenance or lack thereof. In considering the\n\nproposal to vacate the road, the board shall hear testimony provided\n\nby the petitioners and others who may testify at the hearing as to\n\nwhether the road should be vacated. Upon a decision by the board to\nlic, through grant or ownership, by easement or dedication, by\n\nadverse possession, or by open and notorious use, regardless of the\n\nfrequency of maintenance or lack thereof. In considering the\n\nproposal to vacate the road, the board shall hear testimony provided\n\nby the petitioners and others who may testify at the hearing as to\n\nwhether the road should be vacated. Upon a decision by the board to\n\nvacate the road, the board shall issue an order to void any easement\n\npertaining to the road, if such easement exists, and require that\n\nthe road be closed in such a manner as to prevent the use of the\n\nroad by the general public. The decision of the board to vacate or\n\nnot to vacate the road shall be final. Except as provided in\n\nSection 649 of this title, no road in use by the general public\n\nshall be closed, obstructed or vacated in any manner except as\n\nprovided by this section. Every person who shall close, obstruct or\n\nattempt to vacate a road in a manner other than the manner set forth\n\nin this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction\n\nshall be fined not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than\n\nFive Hundred Dollars ($500.00). In addition, such person shall be\n\nliable for the cost incurred by the county to remove, repair or\n\notherwise return the road to open travel by the public. Nothing in\n\nthis section shall prohibit the temporary closing of any road by law\n\nenforcement or emergency personnel in the performance of their\n\nofficial duty, public utilities with regard to routine maintenance\n\nand construction, or other such entities as authorized by the board\n\nof county commissioners.\n\nD. Wherever in those counties the amount of Indian lands or\n\nthose exempt from taxation by reason of the operation of any federal\n\nlaw is thirty percent (30%) or more of the total area of the county,\n\nthen the board of county commissioners may, upon its own initiative,\n\nand if the public interests demand it, move to secure roads over,\n\nadjacent to, or for the benefit of all such exempted lands as set\n\nforth in this subsection. The board shall call upon the Director of\n\nthe Oklahoma Department of Transportation as a disinterested party\n\nto undertake and make such surveys, plans and estimates and obtain\n\nall other essential data and records as are required to make a full\n\nand complete statement and report upon the interest involved, and to\n\nmake such recommendations as in the premises may seem proper. When\n\nso prepared, the Department of Transportation shall then advance the\n\nmatter to the Department of the Interior of the United States, or to\n\nany other federal department concerned, through its proper local\n\nrepresentative, if there be one, with the request that the matter be\n\nconsidered and disposed of as speedily as possible. If the project\n\nbe so approved and authorized, then the work may proceed under the\n\nspecial supervision and direct administration of the Department of\n\nTransportation and subject to such special regulations as the\n\ncircumstances seem to require.","path":["OK Code","Title 69"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os69.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"58a978b6bca645807973f862da1aaa9f6df59c853f3df3d7e5943e0b338dd38a","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-645","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-69-69-647"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}