Last Updated on 10/22/2026
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Minimum maintenance roads are a particular type of very low-volume road (under fifty average daily motor vehicle trips per day) and must be created through the procedure outlined in the adopted local law for low volume roads. Only two categories of low-volume roads (agricultural land access and recreational land access) may be further designated as “minimum maintenance”, if they meet the criteria outlined in the approved local law. Put simply: all minimum maintenance roads are low-volume roads, but not all low-volume roads can become minimum maintenance roads.
The definition of a minimum maintenance road can be found in Highway Law § 205-c (e):
- “Minimum maintenance road” shall mean a low-volume agricultural or recreational access road or portion thereof with an average daily traffic count of less than fifty motor vehicles per day designated by the designated town as minimum maintenance pursuant to this section, except for a farm access road or a road which provides access to an individual year-round residence at the time it is proposed to be designated minimum maintenance[i].
Highway Law § 205-c also states, “… A road or road segment located within a designated town, which has been designated minimum maintenance, shall be maintained at the same level as other roads within the town but shall not require snow and ice removal and maintenance.” In the case of this bill, the “designated town” refers to the town of Lorraine in Jefferson County.
A road’s minimum maintenance classification does not mean no maintenance. While minimum maintenance roads are often associated with no plowing, it is more accurate to consider them as roads maintained according to the appropriate standards for the road’s specific low-volume classification as adopted by the town board. The town must specify what maintenance activities will be conducted prior to the designation taking effect. These activities will be based on the minimum that is necessary to keep the road in service as consistent with its classification. In most circumstances, it may mean reducing or removing snow removal entirely.
Minimum maintenance also does not mean abandonment, nor is it a step in the road abandonment process. Minimum maintenance road designation (Highway Law § 205-c) and road abandonment (Highway Law § 205) follow two separate and distinct procedural steps. Were a minimum maintenance road to be abandoned, six full years would need to elapse following the termination of its minimum maintenance designation in addition to complying with all required abandonment criteria. Minimum maintenance road designation, therefore, can be seen as a cost-effective alternative to abandonment.
A minimum maintenance road designation is not necessarily permanent. The town board may terminate a designation at any time by amending the local law if such a change is in the public interest. Also, any landowner abutting the road may petition the town for a change in classification, and the town board must hold a public hearing within 30 days of receipt of the petition. The town board may deny or approve the petition. If the petition is denied, the landowner must wait a minimum of two years to re-petition. Unlike limited seasonal-use roads, highway departments are not obligated to plow minimum maintenance roads upon landowner request without the landowner following the petition and approval process outlined in the local law.
[i] NY Highway Law § 205-c