North Dakota Code § 24-07-03

Section lines considered public roads open for public travel - Closing same
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under certain conditions.
In all townships in this state, outside the limits of incorporated cities, and outside platted 
townsites, additions, or subdivisions recorded pursuant to sections 40 -50.1-01 through 
40-50.1-17 or recorded prior to July 1, 1987, under former chapter 40 -50, the congressional 
section lines are considered public roads open for public travel to the width of thirty -three feet 
[10.06 meters] on each side of the section lines.
The board of county commissioners, if petitioned by a person having an interest in the 
adjoining land or a portion thereof, after public hearing and a finding by the commissioners of 
public benefit, may close section lines or portions thereof which are not used for ten years, are 
not traveled due to natural obstacles or difficulty of terrain, are not required due to readily 
accessible alternate routes of travel, or are intersected by interstate highways causing the 
section line to be a deadend, providing the closing of the dead-end section line does not deprive 
adjacent landowners access to the landowners' property. After the section lines are closed, they 
may be used to the benefit of the adjacent landowners. However, survey or property reference 
monuments may not be disturbed, removed, or destroyed. If drainage is interfered with due to 
the farming operations, alternate means of drainage must be provided for by the landowners or 
tenants farming the lands.

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