Was driving Eastbound on I-94 outside of Miles City,MT, noticed they were in process of replacing the fence along southside of highway. My question is who is responsible for maintaining and replciing this fenceline at RoW edges? State, Feds, Combination of both, or landowner?
Thanks
Ilya
Quote from: TUSGJP on May 07, 2023, 05:30:24 PM
Was driving Eastbound on I-94 outside of Miles City,MT, noticed they were in process of replacing the fence along southside of highway. My question is who is responsible for maintaining and replciing this fenceline at RoW edges? State, Feds, Combination of both, or landowner?
Thanks
Ilya
Alongside Interstates would be the State's responsibility or the public authority that owns the facility, at least in NY.
In the early days of Interstate construction, fencing was often bundled into its own contracts, and was a chargeable expense since it was and is part of "making good" on land acquisition. Out west, ranches have a surprising amount invested even in simple three-strand barbed-wire fences.
In Montana, the fence along the RoW is maintained by the state. In fact, some of the fence between Miles City and Terry, MT, was a successful trial for fencing along areas with heavy wildlife vs. vehicle collisions. Between taller fences and escape points for any animals that got trapped, it became a standard for other parts of the state highway system with the same issue.