Code of Alabama

Ala. Code § 23-1-80 (2026)

County Commissions - Powers and Duties Generally.

✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section JustiaAla. Code CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

The county commissions of the several counties of this state have general superintendence of the public roads, bridges, and ferries within their respective counties so as to render travel over the same as safe and convenient as practicable. To this end, they have legislative and executive powers, except as limited in this chapter. They may establish, promulgate, and enforce rules and regulations, make and enter into such contracts as may be necessary or as may be deemed necessary or advisable by such commissions to build, construct, make, improve and maintain a good system of public roads, bridges, and ferries in their respective counties, and regulate the use thereof; but no contract for the construction or repair of any public roads, bridge, or bridges shall be made where the payment of the contract price for such work shall extend over a period of more than 20 years.

(Code 1923, §1347; Acts 1927, No. 347, p. 348; Code 1940, T. 23, §43; Acts 1953, No. 729, p. 984.)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 15 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1980–2025 · leading case: Elmore Cnty. Com'n v. Ragona, 540 So. 2d 720 (Ala. 1989).
Elmore Cnty. Com'n v. Ragona, 540 So. 2d 720 (Ala. 1989). · cites it 2× “Ala.Code 1975, § 23-1-80. This Court held that plaintiffs could sue counties and county commissions in Cook v.”
Cook v. Cnty. of St. Clair, 384 So. 2d 1 (Ala. 1980). · cites it 2× “Although the courts of this State formulated the corporate-governmental distinction as the basis for allowing cities and counties to be sued for their tortious conduct, this distinction was applied to municipalities permitting them to be sued for torts committed in the…”
Allbritton v. Dawkins, 19 So. 3d 241 (Ala. Civ. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “See also Ala.Code 1975, § 23-1-80 (“The county commissions of the several counties of this state have general superintendence of the public roads .”
Presley v. Etowah Cnty. Comm'n, 502 U.S. 491 (1992). “Although the May 1979 resolution *499 may have sufficed for the necessary delegation of authority to the county engineer, compare Ala. Code § 23-1-80 (1975) with Ala. Code § 11-6-3 (1975), the commission also requested the state legislature to pass implementing legislation.”
Hall v. North Montgomery Materials, LLC, 39 So. 3d 159 (Ala. Civ. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “See § 23-1-80, Ala.Code 1975, which provides, in pertinent part: “The county commissions of the several counties of this state have general superintendence of the public roads .”
Boles v. Autery, 554 So. 2d 959 (Ala. 1989). “"The county commissions of the several counties of this state have general superintendence of the public roads," § 23-1-80, and they have "authority in relation to the establishment, change or discontinuance of roads," § 11-3-10.”
Holt Ex Rel. Holt v. Lauderdale Cnty., 26 So. 3d 401 (Ala. 2008). · cites it 3× “Holt (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Holt”), sued Lauderdale County and the county engineer, Ken Allamel, alleging negligence in that they breached their duty to maintain county roads in a safe manner, under both Ala.Code 1975, § 23-1-80, and the common law.”
Jefferson Cnty. Comm'n v. ECO Pres. Servs., L.L.C., 788 So. 2d 121 (Ala. 2000). “See § 23-1-80, Ala.Code 1975. While the county commission does have general superintendence authority over public roads, see Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Birmingham v.”
Jefferson Cty. Com'n v. Eco Preserv. Serv., LLC, 788 So. 2d 121 (Ala. 2000). “See § 23-1-80, Ala.Code 1975. While the county commission does have general superintendence authority over public roads, see Water Works & Sewer Board of the City of Birmingham v.”
Ward v. Morgan Cnty., 769 So. 2d 884 (Ala. 2000). · cites it 2× “1985); see Ala.Code 1975, § 23-1-80. 3 “Since the county can be sued for its negligence, and is exclusively responsible for maintenance and control of its roadways, its standard of care is to keep its streets in a reasonably safe condition for travel, and to remedy defects in…”
Bradley v. Scott, 238 So. 3d 62 (Ala. Civ. App. 2017). “2d at 962 , and § 23-1-80, Ala. Code 1975)("The county commissions of the several counties of this state have general superintendence of the public roads .”
Neely v. Elmore Cnty. (M.D. Ala. 2024). · cites it 2× “See Ala. Code § 23-1-80 . The Commission also has the power to take private property for public roads.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.