Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.025 (2026)

Road presumed established -- Presumption of width and area of public

✓ current as of May 2026

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road right-of-way.

(1) Any road, street, highway, or parcel of ground, dedicated and laid-off as a public way and used without restrictions on a continuous basis by the general public for fifteen (15) consecutive years, shall conclusively be presumed to be a public road.

(2) In the absence of any record, the width of a public road right-of-way shall be presumed to extend to and include that area lying outside the shoulders and ditch lines and within any landmarks such as fences, fence posts, cornerstones, or other similar monuments indicating the boundary lines.

(3) In the absence of both record or landmark, the right-of-way of a public road shall be deemed to extend to and include the shoulders and ditch lines adjacent to said road and to the top of cuts or toe of fills where such exist. Effective: July 12, 2006 History: Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 236, sec. 1, effective July 12, 2006. -- Amended 2004 Ky. Acts ch. 61, sec. 2, effective July 13, 2004. -- Created 1966 Ky. Acts ch. 108, secs. 1 to 3.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 11 cases (5 in the last 5 years), 1983–2026 · leading case: Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016).

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Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016). “2d 969 (1931); KRS 178.025 (“[a]ny road ... used without restrictions on a continuous basis by the general public for fifteen (15) consecutive years, shall conclusively be presumed to be a public road.”

Cary v. Pulaski Cnty. Fiscal Court, 420 S.W.3d 500 (Ky. Ct. App. 2013). “Public roads may also be formally dedicated and presumed to exist pursuant to the terms of KRS 178.025, or come into being under a *509 theory of dedication by estoppel.”

Kentucky Utils. Co. v. Commonwealth, 665 S.W.2d 918 (Ky. Ct. App. 1983). · cites it 11× “265 was enacted in 1966, the legislature also enacted another statute, KRS 178.025(2), which created a presumption as to the width of public road right-of-way.”

Blankenship v. Acton, 159 S.W.3d 330 (Ky. Ct. App. 2004). “KRS 178.025 addresses only the establishment of public road, not its discontinuance.”

Logan Jarvis Johns v. Elliot Young (Ky. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 22× “The Youngs, for their part, maintain that KRS 178.025 had no such effect; that Willow Oak Lane is no greater than 30 feet wide; and that because the sliver is otherwise encompassed within the boundary of their tract, they have the right to prohibit Johns and Jennings from…”

Hawkins v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cnty. of Webster (W.D. Ky. 2021). · cites it 19× “” 4KRS § 178.025 provides: (1) Any road, street, highway, or parcel of ground, dedicated and laid-off as a public way and used without restrictions on a continuous basis by the general public for fifteen (15) consecutive years, shall conclusively be presumed to be a public road.”

Watson v. Crittenden Cnty. Fiscal Court, 771 S.W.2d 47 (Ky. Ct. App. 1989). “KRS 178.025(1) has no application as that section applies to “formally” dedicated roadways.”

Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Donald Sproul (Ky. 2017). “1931); KRS 178.025 (“[a]ny road . . . used without restrictions on a continuous basis by the general public for fifteen (15) consecutive years, shall conclusively be presumed to be a public road.”

John Bruner v. Don Cooper (Ky. 2022). “68 The claimant therefore needs to prove by clear and convincing evidence69 that possession of the road was “(1) hostile ‘under a claim of right’; (2) actual; (3) exclusive; (4) continuous; and (5) open and notorious.”

John Bruner v. Don Cooper (Ky. 2023). “68 The claimant therefore needs to prove by clear and convincing evidence69 that possession of the road was “(1) hostile ‘under a claim of right’; (2) actual; (3) exclusive; (4) continuous; and (5) open and notorious.”

Jena Lhotsky v. Guy Sutcliffe (Ky. Ct. App. 2025). “3 In presenting his arguments below, Lhotsky pointed to KRS 178.025(3) which defines right-of- way as “extend[ing] to and includ[ing] the shoulders and ditch lines adjacent to [the] road[.”

— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.025(1) — 1 case

Watson v. Crittenden Cnty. Fiscal Court, 771 S.W.2d 47 (Ky. Ct. App. 1989). “KRS 178.025(1) has no application as that section applies to “formally” dedicated roadways.”

— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.025(2) — 3 cases

Kentucky Utils. Co. v. Commonwealth, 665 S.W.2d 918 (Ky. Ct. App. 1983). “265 was enacted in 1966, the legislature also enacted another statute, KRS 178.025(2), which created a presumption as to the width of public road right-of-way.”

Logan Jarvis Johns v. Elliot Young (Ky. Ct. App. 2026). “The Youngs, for their part, maintain that KRS 178.025 had no such effect; that Willow Oak Lane is no greater than 30 feet wide; and that because the sliver is otherwise encompassed within the boundary of their tract, they have the right to prohibit Johns and Jennings from…”

Hawkins v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cnty. of Webster (W.D. Ky. 2021). “” 4KRS § 178.025 provides: (1) Any road, street, highway, or parcel of ground, dedicated and laid-off as a public way and used without restrictions on a continuous basis by the general public for fifteen (15) consecutive years, shall conclusively be presumed to be a public road.”

— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.025(3) — 3 cases

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