Disputed Westend road solution still unclear

Efforts to determine whether or not an old road in the Grays River Valley meets criteria for a county road right of way are making slow progress, county Prosecuting Attorney Dan Bigelow said Tuesday.

Valley resident Bob Larson has asked county officials to reopen an old road called Kessel Road so that people who bought land from him along Barr Road can have access to it.

Other Valley residents, however, have said there is no county road right-of-way as Larson claims.

In March, the parties spoke to the board of commissioners, and Bigelow said he would try to make a factual determination on whether or not the right of way actually exists.

On Tuesday, he reported that he had interviewed some long-time Valley residents and researched records, but he needs to do more research.

He has found information indicating that in the 1890's there was a road in the area. At that time, the road may have been located on the north side of a section line, he said. The road as Larson describes it is on the south side of the section line.

It also appears the road was then maintained by private property owners, not the county, he said.

"I need to find more information about public use," he said. "It also poses a question, do two roads next to each other count as one road?

"My plan is to find more old timers to interview and to research the legal questions. There may be impediments to calling this our road."