Franklin County road questions start with road ownership

A pothole report in Franklin County starts with a map question: whose road is it? The Highway Department maintains more than 785 miles of county road, the right-of-way tied to those roads, 163 bridges, and the drainage structures that keep water moving away from the pavement.

County maintenance covers plain but important work: gravel, asphalt and concrete patching, roadside ditching, vegetation control, bridge maintenance, signs, and snow and ice control. It does not turn every road with a Franklin County mailing address into a county road. Private roads and subdivisions stay outside county takeover, while city streets and MoDOT routes have their own reporting paths.

For a resident dealing with a culvert, washed shoulder, blocked ditch, damaged sign, or winter road problem, name the road owner first. A county road belongs with the Franklin County Highway Department. City streets, MoDOT routes, and private subdivision roads need different doors.