Can the town appropriate money to maintain or repair Class VI roads?
A. RSA 231:59 authorizes municipalities to spend money to repair Class IV and V highways, not Class VI roads. One of the basic tenets of New Hampshire municipal law is that towns and cities have only that authority granted to them by the state legislature. Without a specific grant of authority, towns and cities do not have authority to act. Q. Can private parties maintain or repair Class VI roads? A. Yes, with permission of the municipality. RSA 236:9 prohibits anyone from excavating or disturbing the ditches, embankments or traveled surface of any town road, including a Class VI road, without the written permission of the municipality’s governing body (board of selectmen or town/city council) or the road agent. RSA 236:10 provides that the municipality may regulate such private road work and may require a bond for the satisfactory restoration of the road. RSA 236:11 requires anyone who excavates or disturbs town roads to restore them to the satisfaction of the authorized local officia
