Arbaugh v. Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Rd. Co.

Citations

• 104 Ohio St. (N.S.) 110

Syllabus

<p>County commissioners — Elimination of railroad grade crossings —Procedure—Adoption of resolution insufficient — Negotiations with railroad necessary, when — Section 6956-3, General Code — Alteration of state highway — Subsequent board bound, when — Defective or irregular proceedings — Abandoned highway vacated, when — Power to re-establish or reopen — Court of equity or board of commissioners.</p> <p>1. Where a board of county commissioners adopts a resolution setting forth an alleged dangerous highway crossing under a.railroad, and the alleged necessity of establishing another undercrossing, at some other point, the mere adoption of such a resolution does not create an obligation on the part of the railroad company to proceed to construct such new undercrossing, but there must first be an effort to reach an agreement between the railroad company and the county commissioners upon the location of such new undercrossing and the plans and specifications for same; and a petition which merely alleges the adoption of such a resolution and the existence of a dangerous situation, without alleging any effort to reach an agreement, and without alleging a demand on the part of the commissioners or a refusal on the part of the railroad, does not state a cause of action under Section 6956-3, General Code.</p> <p>2. Where a board of county commissioners has made an order for the alteration of a state highway pursuant to statutory proceedings and such alteration has in fact been made and such altered highway opened and used for approximately twenty-two years, a subsequent board of county commissioners may not declare the former order void, notwithstanding defects or irregularities in the proceedings wherein such former order was made.</p> <p>3. Where such order has been made for the alteration of a state highway in the year 1897 and such altered highway opened for traffic, that portion of the original highway which was rendered unnecessary by the alteration automatically became