39-1801. County and township roads; temporary closing; detours; authority of county and township board; barricades; violation; penalty.

Whenever a county or township road or a part of such road is impassable or unusually dangerous to travel, whenever it becomes necessary because of construction or maintenance work to suspend all or part of the travel on such road, or whenever justified by necessity in order to provide for the public safety, such road or part of a road may be temporarily closed, and when feasible a suitable detour provided, or the weight limitations of wheel and axle loads as defined in subsections (2) through (4) of section 60-6,294 may be restricted to the extent deemed necessary for a reasonable period where the subgrade or pavement of such roads is weak or materially weakened by climatic conditions, by the county board as to county roads within the county and by the township board as to township roads within the township or by the person to whom the county board or township board has delegated the authority to temporarily close roads within the particular county or township.

Whenever such road or part of a road is temporarily closed, the person, board, or contractor therefor shall erect, at both ends of the portion of the road so closed, suitable barricades, fences, or other enclosures and shall post signs warning the public that the road is closed by authority of law. Such barricades, fences, enclosures, and signs shall serve as notice to the public that such road is unsafe and that anyone entering such closed road, without permission, does so at his or her own peril.

Whenever a road or part of a road is undergoing construction, repair, or maintenance, while the public use thereof is permitted, traffic thereon may be regulated, limited, or controlled under the same authority as such road may be temporarily closed.

Any person who violates any provision of this section or who removes or interferes with any barricade, fence, enclosure, or warning sign required by this section shall be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor.

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Annotations

A motorist commits a misdemeanor by proceeding down a county road that has been temporarily closed and has suitable barricades and signs posted, thus giving an officer probable cause to stop the vehicle. State v. Morrissey, 19 Neb. App. 590, 810 N.W.2d 195 (2012).