2006 Minnesota Statutes

161.43 RELINQUISHMENT OF HIGHWAY EASEMENT.
The commissioner of transportation may relinquish and quitclaim to the fee owner an
easement or portion of an easement owned but no longer needed by the Transportation Department
for trunk highway purposes, upon payment to the Transportation Department of an amount of
money equal to the appraised current market value of the easement. If the fee owner refuses to pay
the required amount, or if after diligent search the fee owner cannot be found, the commissioner
may convey the easement to an agency or to a political subdivision of the state upon terms and
conditions agreed upon, or the commissioner may acquire the fee title to the land underlying the
easement in the manner provided in section 161.20, subdivision 2. After acquisition of the fee
title, the lands may be sold to the highest responsible bidder upon three weeks' published notice of
the sale in a newspaper or other periodical of general circulation in the county where the land
is located. All bids may be rejected and new bids received upon like publication. If the lands
remain unsold after being offered for sale to the highest bidder, the commissioner may retain the
services of a licensed real estate broker to find a buyer. The sale price may be negotiated by the
broker, but must not be less than 90 percent of the appraised market value as determined by the
commissioner. The broker's fee must be established by prior agreement between the commissioner
and the broker, and must not exceed ten percent of the sale price for sales of $10,000 or more. The
broker's fee must be paid to the broker from the proceeds of the sale.
History: 1959 c 500 art 2 s 43; 1971 c 276 s 1; 1976 c 166 s 7; 1980 c 533 s 8; 1983 c 143
s 6; 1984 c 654 art 3 s 57