I actually have a new commissioner that wants to remove a MADD Cross from County Right of Way. He asked me if there is any legal reason he must leave it up. I can not find any reason (other than political sucide but not my job to protect them from that). Does anyone know of any?

While I haven't had quite this question, my commissioners have had to request that other items be removed from the right of way. In most cases, the landowner / placer has not removed the item and it "disappeared" the next time the mowers came through. There is no requirement that "obstructions" be tolerated or that the road crew replace such after passing.

So - requesting / requiring the removal is probably legal; committing suicide may be another issue!

I was curious because cross markers are common around my area where people have died in accidents, so I did a little research. I thought that at one time, a small memorial marker could be placed on the right of way if the victim died as the result of an accident involving an intoxicated driver, but a Lexis search of the statutes and administrative rules didn't turn up anything. TXDOT does have one rule (43 TAC 22.17 I think) that authorizes placement of memorials where a DPS trooper was killed in the line of duty.

Janette Ansolabehere

I had a similar question several years ago when a cross was placed on a county road and someone who drove by it everyday was offended by it as it reminded them of a loved one that was killed by a drunk driver.
If memory serves, there was a statute governing such placements on state roadways and after looking at the statutes and discussing the issue with TEXDOT, I told the commissioner he did not have to remove it. I think after looking at the statute, it seemed that it was a public policy issue addressed by the State and we followed the guidance of same. That being said, it was a long time ago and I can't even recall the statute but there were specifics about how high, what materials etc. as allowed by the highway dept. You might check with them to see if they can point you in a direction. Sorry that is all I can remember.