Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 222.37 (2026)

Public Road; Use, Restriction

✓ current as of May 2026

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Subdivision 1.Use requirements.

(a) Any water power, telegraph, telephone, pneumatic tube, pipeline, community antenna television, cable communications or electric light, heat, power company, entity that receives a route permit under chapter 216E for a high-voltage transmission line necessary to interconnect an electric power generating facility with transmission lines or associated facilities of an entity that directly, or through its members or agents, provides retail electric service in the state, or fire department may use public roads for the purpose of constructing, using, operating, and maintaining lines, subways, canals, conduits, transmission lines, hydrants, or dry hydrants, for their business, but such lines shall be so located as in no way to interfere with the safety and convenience of ordinary travel along or over the same; and, in the construction and maintenance of such line, subway, canal, conduit, transmission lines, hydrants, or dry hydrants, the entity shall be subject to all reasonable regulations imposed by the governing body of any county, town or city in which such public road may be. If the governing body does not require the entity to obtain a permit, an entity shall notify the governing body of any county, town, or city having jurisdiction over a public road prior to the construction or major repair, involving extensive excavation on the road right-of-way, of the entity's equipment along, over, or under the public road, unless the governing body waives the notice requirement. A waiver of the notice requirement must be renewed on an annual basis. For emergency repair an entity shall notify the governing body as soon as practical after the repair is made. Nothing herein shall be construed to grant to any person any rights for the maintenance of a telegraph, telephone, pneumatic tube, community antenna television system, cable communications system, or light, heat, power system, electric power generating system, high-voltage transmission line, or hydrant system within the corporate limits of any city until such person shall have obtained the right to maintain such system within such city or for a period beyond that for which the right to operate such system is granted by such city.

(b) Any public water district, sewer district, or combination water and sewer district established under chapter 116A may install water and sewer lines and all other ancillary infrastructure within a public township, county, or state road right-of-way in accordance with paragraph (a). When installing water and sewer lines within a trunk highway right-of-way under this paragraph, a district must comply with the requirements under section 161.45, and Minnesota Rules, parts 8810.3100 to 8810.3600.

Subd. 2.Pipeline.

Any corporation or any person or persons engaged in transportation within this state as a carrier of gas, liquids, or solids in suspension by pipeline or pipelines may use trunk highways or highways forming a part of the interstate system for the purpose of constructing, using, operating and maintaining such pipelines under and across such highways for their business, but such pipelines shall be located on such highway crossings as to in no way interfere with the safety and convenience of ordinary travel along or over the same; and, in the construction, use, operation and maintenance of the pipeline crossing, the company or owner shall be subject to all regulations imposed by the governing body of any county, town or city in which such highway may be. Any permit hereunder granted to such carrier or owner shall be subject to such rules as may be prescribed with respect to such crossings by the commissioner of transportation pursuant to and in accordance with section 161.45.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 8 cases, 1947–2019 · leading case: N. States Power Co. v. City of Oakdale, 588 N.W.2d 534 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999).

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N. States Power Co. v. City of Oakdale, 588 N.W.2d 534 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999). · cites it 12× “Minn.Stat. § 222.37 (1998) also deals with municipal regulation of utility line placement and provides in part: Any * * * power company * * * may use public roads for the purpose of constructing, using, operating, and maintaining lines * * * for their business, but such lines…”

Miller-Lagro v. N. States Power Co., 582 N.W.2d 550 (Minn. 1998). · cites it 6× “NSP and Asplundh argue that Minn. Stat. § 222.37 and Medicine Lake Ordinance No.”

Minneapolis Gas Co. v. Zimmerman, 91 N.W.2d 642 (Minn. 1958). “(Compare §§ 222.37, 161.03, subd. 1, 222.26, and 219.”

Krafft v. Hirt, 110 N.W.2d 14 (Minn. 1961). · cites it 2× “In other words, if the violation is reasonably necessary to the exercise of the rights granted by § 222.37, and the work is performed with due regard for the safety of others, then, in our opinion, the violation would be justified and excusable.”

Novotny v. Bouley, 27 N.W.2d 813 (Minn. 1947). · cites it 2× “1945, § 222.37, 3 authorizes telephone companies to use public roads for the purpose of constructing and maintaining lines and provides: * * but such lines shall be so located as in no way to interfere with the safety and convenience of ordinary travel along or over the same; *…”

N. States Power Co. v. Fed. Transit Admin., 358 F.3d 1050 (8th Cir. 2004). · cites it 2× “Reasonableness of Regulations Xcel argues that its claim that MnDOT’s regulations were unreasonable under Minn.Stat. § 222.37 and Minn. R. 8810 .3300 was stated sufficiently in its Complaint to satisfy the liberal notice pleading standards of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”

City of Baxter v. City of Brainerd, 932 N.W.2d 477 (Minn. Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 28× “Minn. Stat. § 222.37 , subd. 1 Baxter contends that section 222.”

U S West Commc'ns, Inc. v. City of Redwood Falls, 558 N.W.2d 512 (Minn. Ct. App. 1997). · cites it 2× “04 and Minn.Stat. § 222.37. We conclude that the more specific provisions in chapter 237 must prevail over the less specific provisions in chapters 300 and 222.”

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.