As a reporter who spends more hours in town board and city council meetings than even the elected officials do, I hear some road terms thrown around a lot. When I started with the Patriot in August of 2020, I had no clue what any of them meant. 

In light of that, I thought I’d use my column this week to explain some of these terms as best I can, for those of you who, like me, had no idea what they really meant. 

Right of Way: This designates the area reserved for the roadway. This may sometimes include a part of your yard, depending on the situation. So, while it is your yard and your responsibility to maintain, your township or city may require you to keep the front of the yard near the road clear of decoration, vehicles, or other items. Usually this is a safety issue, as a snow plow or other vehicle could potentially collide with the items. It is best to keep items of this nature away from the roadway. 

CSAH: A.k.a. County State Aid Highway. This designates a county road that the state had deemed important enough to partially fund. The CSAH system is funded via taxes on gas, vehicle registration, vehicle sales, and general sales in Minnesota. 

Overlay: Spring and summer are the seasons of overlays, and one of the easier and cheaper ways of maintaining public roads. A new surface of asphalt is paved over an existing road, keeping it usable and making the road last longer before a reclaim is necessary.

Reclaim: After 20-30 years, the road simply becomes damaged to the point where overlays are no longer helpful. This is when the township or city needs to do a “reclaim.” The road is torn up and completely redone. 

Chip sealing: Even cheaper than an overlay, chip sealing involves a very thin layer of asphalt with aggregate (chips) laid down to fill in holes. It is another tool for extending the life of the road. 

Minimum maintenance road: This is a road which is not considered of high priority to maintain. Signage is posted, and motorists travel at their own risk. This does not mean it will definitely be in worse shape than other roads, depending on how recently it was maintained, just that the owner does not plan to maintain it.