Selectmen would not only consider whether to lay out the highway, but how much to pay you for the taking. Before the highway could be used, the selectmen would need to file a certificate of opening after construction was done. You would then have a right to appeal the board's decision on either issue-to the state district court within sixty days of the opening of the highway on the question of damages and to the superior court within twenty days of the date the selectmen's order to lay out the highway is recorded on the question of the necessity of the taking. Necessity is a word that has a long legal history and will be the primary question for the court on appeal. If the highway travels through more than one town, the board of selectmen of all involved towns must act to approve the taking.
Maintenance is the reason most landowners complain about town highways.
The town didn't plow the road. The town didn't do anything about the muddy place on the way to your house. The highway is too narrow along this stretch, and the pine boughs scratched the finish on my new car. I had an accident on the ice that built up on the road bed the morning after the storm and wrenched my back. People's rights vary, depending on the nature of the complaint and the state of the law on the subject.