CO Code § 43-5-301 (2021)
2021 Colorado Code|Title 43 - Transportation|Article 5 - Highway Safety|Part 3 - Offenses|§ 43-5-301. Obstructing Highway - Penalty

 [ ] No person or corporation shall erect any fence, house, or other structure, or dig pits or holes in or upon any highway, or place thereon or cause or allow to be placed thereon any stones, timber, or trees or any obstruction whatsoever. No person or corporation shall tear down, burn, or otherwise damage any bridge of any highway, or cause wastewater or the water from any ditch, road, drain, flume, agricultural crop sprinkler system, or other source to flow or fall upon any road or highway so as to damage the same or to cause a hazard to vehicular traffic. Any person or corporation so offending is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than three hundred dollars and shall also be liable to any person, unit of government, or corporation in a civil action for any damages resulting therefrom. Upon a third conviction therefor, the offender shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten dollars nor more than three hundred dollars or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three days and shall also be liable to any person, unit of government, or corporation in a civil action for any damages resulting therefrom. Each day such condition is allowed to continue upon any highway shall be deemed a separate offense.  Editor's note: This version of this section is effective until March 1, 2022.  History. Source: L. 1883: P. 261, § 36. G.S. § 2988. L. 1885: P. 325, § 1. R.S. 08: § 5826. C.L. § 1280. CSA: C. 143, § 34. CRS 53: § 120-4-1. C.R.S. 1963: § 120-4-1. L. 81: Entire section amended, p. 1775, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2021: Entire section amended,(SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3326, § 780, effective March 1, 2022. History. Source: L. 1883: P. 261, § 36. G.S. § 2988. L. 1885: P. 325, § 1. R.S. 08: § 5826. C.L. § 1280. CSA: C. 143, § 34. CRS 53: § 120-4-1. C.R.S. 1963: § 120-4-1. L. 81: Entire section amended, p. 1775, § 2, effective July 1. L. 2021: Entire section amended,(SB 21-271), ch. 462, p. 3326, § 780, effective March 1, 2022.    Editor's note:   Section 803(2) of chapter 462 (SB 21-271), Session Laws of Colorado 2021, provides that the act changing this section applies to offenses committed on or after March 1, 2022.   Cross references:   For damaging road, ditch, or flume, see § 7-42-109 ; for penalty for cutting or breaking ditch or flume, see § 37-89-101 ; for obstructing highway or other passageway, see § 18-9-107 .   ANNOTATION   This section makes it a criminal offense for anyone to obstruct a public highway. Sprague v. Stead, 56 Colo. 538 , 139 P. 544 (1914).   Section does not prohibit court instruction in negligence action. The fact that this section makes it a criminal act to place an obstruction on the highway does not prohibit a court in a negligence action from instructing on the common-law doctrine that one who moves an obstruction into someone else's path and thus creates a hazard to another must either remove the obstruction or warn others of the hazard if he has a reasonable time and opportunity to do so. Kirkham v. Hickerson Bros. Truck Co., 162 Colo. 125 , 425 P.2d 34 (1967).   Absent negligence, seepage from ditch injuring highway not actionable. Considering that to violate any of the provisions requires active causation, that the construction of ditches is a lawful enterprise, especially authorized by statute, that under other statutes the owner of a ditch is not liable for injuries to land by seepage, it was held that injury to a public highway by seepage from a ditch gives no action, unless negligence is shown. Bridgeford v. Colo. Fuel & Iron Co., 63 Colo. 372 , 167 P. 963 (1917).   Farmer took reasonable measures to prevent obstruction of road when moving agricultural sprinklers and, in light of the special consideration given to the movement of implements of husbandry by state law, there was no violation of this section. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Logan County v. Vandemoer, 205 P.3d 423 (Colo. App. 2008).