Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 82.16 (2026)
Highway orders; presumptions
✓ current as of July 2026
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82.16(1)(1) Every order laying out, altering, or discontinuing a highway under this chapter, and any order restoring the record of a highway, shall be presumptive evidence of the facts therein stated and of the regularity of all the proceedings prior to the making of the order.
82.16(2)(2) The validity of an order described in sub. (1), if fair on its face, is not open to collateral attack, but may be challenged in an action brought under s. 82.15.
82.16(3)(3) It shall be presumed that a release was given by the owners of the lands over which the highway was laid out and the public shall be entitled to use the full width of the highway, as laid out, without further compensation if all of the following apply:
82.16(3)(c)(c) The highway, or a part of the highway, has been used by the public and public money has been expended on the highway for at least 5 years.
82.16 HistoryHistory: 1979 c. 323; 2003 a. 214 ss. 94 to 96, 166; Stats. 2003 s. 82.16; 2003 a. 327.
82.16 NoteNOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 214, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2011–2011 · leading case: Dawson v. Town of Jackson, 2011 WI 77 (Wis. 2011).
Dawson v. Town of Jackson, 2011 WI 77 (Wis. 2011). “In addition, Wis. Stat. § 82.16 suggests that most highway orders are not open to collateral attack.”
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