Section 25 Governmental vs. Proprietary Function

• Library: Condemnation Practice 2009

The opening, construction, and maintenance of public highways are purely governmental functions. Hill-Behan Lumber Co. v. State Highway Comm’n, 148 S.W.2d 499 (Mo. 1941). Unless there is a state statute authorizing damages to abutting property owners, a claim for damages cannot be maintained when a public entity changes the grade of a public highway. Zoll v. St. Louis County, 124 S.W.2d 1168 (Mo. 1938). But damages may be recovered against a municipality as a result of the change in grade or lines of a...