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HIGHWAY

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Originally appearing in Volume V13, Page 458 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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HIGHWAY , a public road over which all persons have full right of way—walking, See also:

riding or See also:driving. Such roads in See also:England for the most See also:part either are of immemorial antiquity or have been created under the authority of an See also:act of See also:parliament. But a private owner may create a highway at See also:common See also:law by dedicating the See also:soil to the use of the public for that purpose; and the using of a road for a number of years, without interruption, will support the presumption that the soil has been so dedicated. At common law the See also:parish is required to maintain all highways within its See also:bounds; but by See also:special See also:custom the See also:obligation may attach to a particular township or See also:district, and in certain cases the owner of See also:land is See also:hound by the conditions of his holding to keep a highway in repair. See also:Breach of the obligation is treated as a criminal offence, and is prosecuted by See also:indictment. See also:Bridges, on the other See also:hand, and so much of the highway as is immediately connected with them, are as a See also:general See also:rule a See also:charge on the See also:county; and by 22 See also:Henry VIII. c. 5 the obligation of the county is extended to 30o yds. of the highway on either See also:side of the See also:bridge. A bridge. like a highway, may be a See also:burden on neighbouring land ratione teiu See also:rae. Private owners so burdened may sometimes claim a special See also:toll from passengers, called a " toll See also:traverse." Extensive changes in the See also:English law of highways have been to highway may be caused by encroachment, by interfering with the soil of the highway, by attracting crowds, by creating danger or inconvenience on or near the highway, by placing obstacles on the highway, by unreasonable user, by offences against decency and See also:good See also:order, &c. The use of locomotives, motor cars and other vehicles on high-ways is regulated by acts of 1861-1903. Formerly under the See also:Turnpike Acts many of the more important highways were placed under the management of boards of commissioners or trustees. The trustees were required and empowered to maintain, repair and improve the roads committed to their charge, and the expenses of the See also:trust were met by tolls levied on persons using the road.

The various grounds of exemption from toll on turnpike roads were all of a public See also:

character, e.g. horses and carriages attending the See also:sovereign or royal See also:family, or used by soldiers or See also:volunteers in See also:uniform, were See also:free from toll. In general horses and carriages used in agricultural See also:work were free from toll. By the Highways and Locomotives Act of 1878 disturnpiked roads became " See also:main roads." See also:Ordinary highways might be declared to be " main roads," and " main roads " be reduced to the status of ordinary highways. In See also:Scotland the highway See also:system is regulated by the Roads and Bridges Act 1878 and amending acts. The management and See also:maintenance of the highways and bridges is vested in county road trustees, viz. the commissioners of See also:supply, certain elected trustees representing ratepayers in parishes and others. One of the consequences of the act was the abolition of tolls, See also:statute-labour, See also:causeway See also:mail and other exactions for the maintenance of bridges and highways, and all turnpike roads became high-ways, and all highways became open to the public free of tolls and other exactions. The county is divided into districts under district committees, and county and district See also:officers are appointed. The expenses of highway management in each district (or parish), together with a proportion of the general expenses of the act, are levied by the trustees by an See also:assessment on the lands and heritages within the district (or parish). Highway, in the law of the states of the See also:American See also:Union, generally means a lawful public road, over which all citizens are allowed to pass and repass on See also:foot, on horseback, in carriages and waggons. Sometimes it is held to be restricted to county roads as opposed to See also:town-ways. In statutes dealing with offences connected with the highway, such as gaining, See also:negligence of See also:carriers, &c., " highway " includes navigable See also:rivers. But in a statute punishing with See also:death See also:robbery on the highway, See also:railways were held not to be included in the See also:term.

In one See also:

case it has been held that any way is a highway which has been used as such for fifty years. See Glen, Law See also:Relating to Highways; See also:Pratt, Law of Highways, Main Roads and Bridges.

End of Article: HIGHWAY

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