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Woodbury resident asks Select Board to discontinue short town highway; board agrees to start legal process
Summary
Property owner David asked the Woodbury Select Board to discontinue Town Highway 21 after describing a partially undermined earthen bridge and safety/access concerns. The board outlined the statutory discontinuance process and agreed to help the owner prepare a petition and schedule a site visit.
Chris, chair of the Woodbury Select Board, opened the discussion after resident David presented measurements and photos showing a large hole through the deck of an earthen bridge on Town Highway 21.
"That hole is about 3 feet in diameter," David said, adding that the opening ‘‘goes horizontally about 12 feet into the body of the bridge’’ and that the narrowest part of the bridge is now about 8 feet wide. He said beaver activity and frost heave have accelerated deterioration and that the bridge primarily serves his property, which he accessed across the structure.
Michael, a town staff member responsible for roads and grants, told the board the town classifies the route as a class‑4 town highway. Board members explained that for class‑4 roads the town is responsible for culverts, bridges and erosion control in their existing condition but is not required to upgrade the road beyond maintenance.
The board and staff urged a technical review. "It would be good to have somebody look at that from a hydrological standpoint," one member said, noting that in‑stream work would require state permitting.
David told the board his preference was to have the town discontinue the road designation so he would no longer be responsible for town‑level liabilities or public access impacts. The selectboard advised him on the statutory discontinuance path: the governing body can act on a petition or initiate its own motion, must provide 30‑day notice, notify the planning commission, conduct a site visit and hold a public hearing. The board noted towns commonly use legal counsel to prepare and review the required documents.
The board agreed to assist David in drafting a petition and to arrange a site visit as part of the process. "If there aren't objections or considerations we haven't thought of, I'd like to go ahead with the discontinuance," one member said, signaling general support for starting the sequence of steps if the property owner chooses to proceed.
What's next: the board will help David prepare a written petition and schedule required notices and a site visit. No formal vote to discontinue the highway was taken at the meeting; the board described this as the first procedural step toward a possible discontinuance.
