66.1031 Widening of highways; establishment of excess widths.

(1) With the approval of the governing body of a city, village, or town in which a street or highway or part of a street or highway is located, the county board, to promote the general welfare, may establish street and highway widths in excess of the widths in use and adopt plans showing the location and width proposed for any future street or highway, which shall not be subject to s. 82.19 (2). Streets or highways or plans for streets or highways established or adopted under this section shall be shown on a map showing present and proposed street or highway lines and, except in counties having a population of 750,000 or more, property lines and owners. The map shall be recorded in the office of the register of deeds, subject to s. 59.43 (2m) and, if applicable, the requirements under s. 84.095. Notice of the recording shall be published as a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, in any city, village, or town in which the affected streets or highways are located. The notice shall briefly set forth the action of the county board.

(2) The excess width for streets or highways in use for the right-of-way required for those planned may be acquired at any time either in whole or in part by the state, county, city, village, or town in which located; but no part shall be acquired in less than the full extent, in width, of the excess width to be made up of land on the same side of the street or highway, nor for less than the full length of such excess width lying within contiguous land owned by the same owner. Any land so acquired, whether the excess width is acquired for the full length of the street or highway or not, shall at once become available for highway purposes. The power to acquire such right-of-way or additional width in portions as provided in this section may be exercised to acquire the land on advantageous terms.

(3) In counties containing a population of 750,000 or more if, subsequent to the establishment of widths on streets or highways under sub. (2), in conformity with this section or s. 59.69, any area embracing a street or highway upon which a width has been established under this section is annexed to a city or village or becomes a city or village by incorporation, the city or village shall adhere to the established width, and shall not, subsequent to any annexation or incorporation, except with the approval of the county board, do any of the following:

(a) Alter or void the established width.

(b) Permit or sanction any construction or development that will interfere with, prevent, or jeopardize the obtaining of the necessary right-of-way to such established width.

History: 1993 a. 301; 1995 a. 201, 225; 1997 a. 35; 2003 a. 214 s. 103; Stats. 2003 s. 66.1031; 2005 a. 253; 2017 a. 207 s. 5.

NOTE: 2003 Wis. Act 214, which affected this section, contains extensive explanatory notes.