Utah Legislature: Lawmakers urge feds to relinquish disputed rural roads

SALT LAKE CITY — State lawmakers endorsed a resolution Thursday urging the federal government to relinquish its claims to thousands of miles of disputed roads in Utah, many of them like the Pony Express Route with cherished historical value.

HCR 14, sponsored by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, was hastily substituted to tone down its language and transform into a "gentler" request of the federal government.

Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Provo, said the roads were established under the authority of an 1866 congressional act that granted rights of way for the construction of highways over public lands.

Those rights under RS2477, once retained by state and local governments, have since been disputed with the passage of subsequent federal legislation that has policy-makers turning a blind eye to recognition of historical and traditional use of the roads.

Dayton said those roads not only include the Pony Express Route but the Burr Trail and the Hastings Pass Road associated with the ill-fated Donner Party.

She added that although counties and local governments have been responsible for maintenance of the road, many of which are important to form a "cohesive" transportation system, access is being increasingly denied.

— Amy Joi O'Donoghue