(1) Any county road, or road formerly maintained by the county or state, shall be
deemed discontinued and possession shall revert to the owner or owners of the tract
of land to which it originally belonged unless at least one (1) of the following
conditions exists:
(a) A public need is served by the road;
(b) The road provides a necessary access for a private person;
(c) The road has been maintained and policed by the county or state within a three
(3) year period.
(2) If the only condition which exists is for a necessary access for a private person, by a
joint petition of all parties entitled to such access, the road shall be deemed
discontinued and possession shall revert to the owner or owners of the tract of land
to which it originally belonged.
(3) If the only condition which exists is for a necessary access for a private person, by
joint petition of all parties entitled to such access, the road shall be closed to public
use but remain open in accordance with its condition and use for the access of the
private parties involved.
(4) If a county road has been discontinued under the provisions of KRS 178.070, then
by a joint petition of all private parties entitled to necessary access the road shall be
closed to public use but remain open in accordance with its condition and use for
the access of the private parties involved, or by a joint petition of all parties entitled
to necessary access the road shall revert to the owner or owners of the tract or tracts
of land to which it originally belonged.
(5) For the purposes of this chapter "necessary access" shall be construed to include
access to any farm, tract of land, or dwelling, or to any portions of such farm, tract
of land, or dwelling.
Effective: July 15, 1980
History: Created 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 243, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1980.
Notes of Decisions
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016).
· cites it 19× “2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
Bailey v. Preserve Rural Roads of Madison Cnty., Inc., 394 S.W.3d 350 (Ky. 2011).
· cites it 15× “” The court also found that “KRS 178.116 provides for the initiation of formal proceedings for the reversion to adjoining land owners of a roadway formerly maintained by the county .”
Blankenship v. Acton, 159 S.W.3d 330 (Ky. Ct. App. 2004).
· cites it 4× “The Actons also rely on KRS 178.116, which was enacted shortly after the Supreme Court rendered the Sarver opinion and provides for discontinuance of a county road, or a road formerly maintained by the county or state.”
Fuqua v. United States, 869 F. Supp. 2d 814 (W.D. Ky. 2012).
· cites it 10× “The government contends that the eastern portion Naomi Road is not a county road, but if it was a county road at one time, that it has been informally abandoned pursuant to KRS § 178.116. 11 After reviewing the voluminous exhibits submitted in support of the parties’ motions for…”
Greene v. Greenup Cnty., 530 S.W.3d 463 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015).
· cites it 5× “On appeal, the Greenes assert that the circuit court erred in upholding the fiscal court’s decision.”
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Donald Sproul (Ky. 2017).
· cites it 13× “2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
Carrie Cox v. Commonwealth of Kentucky (Ky. Ct. App. 2023).
“The road segments east and west of the bridge are necessary for access and maintenance of this state shrine as established by the restoration and need for the public to visit the bridge, such that the requirements of KRS 178.116 were not met for an automatic reversion of the…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.116(1) — 5 cases
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016).
“2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
Bailey v. Preserve Rural Roads of Madison Cnty., Inc., 394 S.W.3d 350 (Ky. 2011).
“” The court also found that “KRS 178.116 provides for the initiation of formal proceedings for the reversion to adjoining land owners of a roadway formerly maintained by the county .”
Blankenship v. Acton, 159 S.W.3d 330 (Ky. Ct. App. 2004).
“The Actons also rely on KRS 178.116, which was enacted shortly after the Supreme Court rendered the Sarver opinion and provides for discontinuance of a county road, or a road formerly maintained by the county or state.”
Fuqua v. United States, 869 F. Supp. 2d 814 (W.D. Ky. 2012).
“The government contends that the eastern portion Naomi Road is not a county road, but if it was a county road at one time, that it has been informally abandoned pursuant to KRS § 178.116. 11 After reviewing the voluminous exhibits submitted in support of the parties’ motions for…”
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Donald Sproul (Ky. 2017).
“2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.116(4) — 3 cases
Bailey v. Preserve Rural Roads of Madison Cnty., Inc., 394 S.W.3d 350 (Ky. 2011).
“” The court also found that “KRS 178.116 provides for the initiation of formal proceedings for the reversion to adjoining land owners of a roadway formerly maintained by the county .”
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016).
“2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Donald Sproul (Ky. 2017).
“2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.116(5) — 3 cases
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016).
“2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
Fuqua v. United States, 869 F. Supp. 2d 814 (W.D. Ky. 2012).
“The government contends that the eastern portion Naomi Road is not a county road, but if it was a county road at one time, that it has been informally abandoned pursuant to KRS § 178.116. 11 After reviewing the voluminous exhibits submitted in support of the parties’ motions for…”
Greene v. Greenup Cnty., 530 S.W.3d 463 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015).
“On appeal, the Greenes assert that the circuit court erred in upholding the fiscal court’s decision.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 178.116(l)(b) — 2 cases
Kentucky Props. Holding LLC v. Sproul, 507 S.W.3d 563 (Ky. 2016).
“2011) and KRS 178.116. The Court of Appeals reasoned that as Church Lane provided Sproul with necessary access to his property, its public status could not be discontinued without a joint petition to the fiscal court by the landowners and the private parties needing access.”
Greene v. Greenup Cnty., 530 S.W.3d 463 (Ky. Ct. App. 2015).
“On appeal, the Greenes assert that the circuit court erred in upholding the fiscal court’s decision.”
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.