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HRS §265A-1

County control over roads, paths, and private streets

County councils manage, maintain, and repair county roads, bike paths, and sidewalks. They can set rules for things like pipes, railroads, and utility lines that cross these areas. Counties may also take over or improve private streets and related utilities.

countieslandowners

The statute, as written — County authority

The several councils or other governing bodies of the several political subdivisions of the State shall have the general supervision, charge, and control of, and the duty to maintain and repair, all county highways, bikeways, and sidewalks and shall have the power to determine the terms under which irrigation or drainage ditches, flumes, railroads, including plantation railroads and similar structures, telephone, electric light and power lines and pipes and other conduits may be maintained upon, under, over, and across the same, and the councils or other governing bodies may make all regulations needful for the public convenience and safety in all cases where permission has been or may be granted to maintain the ditches, railroads, pipes, or other structures across, under, over, and upon all county highways. Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, the several counties by ordinance may take over, or receive by dedication or otherwise, any private street or way or may improve, grade, repair, or do any construction work upon private streets, ways, pavement, water lines, street lighting systems, or sewer repairs.
Read the official text at capitol.hawaii.gov ↗as published Jan 6, 2026our copy taken Aug 20, 2026

LawTrove is not legal advice. The summary above is a computer-generated restatement — the authoritative text is the official version linked above.