Right-Of-Way (R/W or ROW)
(1) An identified piece of land on which some of the surface and subsurface rights have been reserved for the placement of specific facilities. The most common type of right-of-way is related to the placement of roadways. Land that is purchased for the development of highways must also have a number of surface and subsurface land rights reserved to allow for the development of the road. A good percentage of the land in highly urbanized areas is reserved for minimal surface rights-of-way. The great majority of parcel attribute information systems in local government do not identify and inventory each unique piece of right-of-way; however, an appropriate parcel-based land information management system should make an effort to identify and document each surface right-of-way reserved for roadways and other types of easements. (2) A legal delineation of land that indicates a numbered "pass-through" rights that an individual or organization may have on the land. The most common form of right-of-way involves surface pass-through rights that allow an organization to construct a road. Other examples of right-of-way are surface and subsurface easements that allow construction of canals, other drainage features, powerlines, and pipelines. (3) An easement, lease, permit, or license to occupy, use, or traverse public lands granted for the purposes listed in Title V of FLPMA.