Entrepreneurs: A Man’s Road Is His Castle

Private roadways are common enough in the U.S., but private expressways are another matter. Last week a group of businessmen announced a plan to build a 200-mile, four-lane private toll road that would link the Colorado cities of Fort Collins and Pueblo. Since no Government funds would be used for the project, the road would be exempt from the federal 55-m.p.h. speed limit and would allow cruising at up to 80 m.p.h. Under the terms of an 1883 state law, private investors can, in some cases, gain the power of eminent domain to build a road.

But a number of legal potholes confront the project. One is the question of insurance liability. Governments have immunity from litigation by victims of car accidents on public roadways, but owners of private roads do not.