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 canals and railroads, and after a short time, most were abandoned or turned over to local public agencies who acquired the highway right-of-way in the process. By the middle of the 19th century, most highways were being constructed by local and special agencies of the States through which they passed, with, in some instances, slight assistance from the Federal Government. But the formal acquisition of deeded right-of-way evolved as a gradual process.

Shirley Highway (I-95) in Virginia has reversible bus and carpool lanes in the median to improve traffic movement during Washington, D.C., rush hours.

In the early stages of State highway building, highways were built primarily to give access to farms, homes, and businesses. They were truly “land service roads,” and rights-of-way usually were donated by property owners or by others eager to get road improvements in their communities. In many instances, the landowner helped build the road through direct labor or assessments. There was no question as to the landowner’s right of access to the road since denying him access would have defeated the purpose of the road.

Many States adopted the policy of requiring the local political subdivisions to furnish right-of-way for State highways as a contributing share in the cost of the facility. This practice, however, was gradually abandoned except for local roads when the cost of acquiring rights-of-way became too heavy a burden on local agencies or political subdivisions. It then became the general practice for the State highway department to acquire the major portion of State rights-of-way, especially for the arterial highways.

The land ordinance of 1785 provided for the rectangular system of surveying land. Under the system, 30 of the present States were subdivided into townships 6 miles square, each containing 36 sections 1-mile square. These land lines, in many instances, became the boundaries between farms and, thus, were the lines of least resistance for local roads. Normally, each property owner donated 33 feet on his side of the section line, resulting in a right-of-way of one chain or 66 feet wide.

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