¶ 25 This approach is consistent with the general rule that the width of a public prescriptive roadway extends beyond the traveled portion of the road to include areas necessary for its support and maintenance. See e.g., McKenzie Co. v. Reichman, 812 N.W.2d 332, 344 (N.D.2012) (“The width of a prescriptive road must be determined by actual use over the prescriptive period and may include shoulders and ditches needed to support and maintain the traveled portion of the road.”); Nikiel v. Buffalo, 7 Misc.2d 667, 670, 165 N.Y.S.2d 592 (N.Y.Sup.1957) (“[T]he width and extent of a highway established by prescription or use ... is not necessarily limited to the beaten path or traveled tract. It carries with it ... such width as is reasonably necessary for the safety and convenience of the traveling public and for ordinary repairs and improvements.
¶25 This approach is consistent with the general rule that the width of a public prescriptive roadway extends beyond the traveled portion of the road to include areas necessary for its support and maintenance. See e.g., McKenzie Co. v. Reichman, 812 N.W.2d 332, 344 (N.D. 2012) ("The width of a prescriptive road must be determined by actual use over the prescriptive period and may include shoulders and ditches needed to support and maintain the traveled portion of the road."); Nikiel v. Buffalo, 7 Misc. 2d 667, 670 (N.Y. Sup. 1957) ("[T]he width and extent of a highway established by prescription or use . . . is not necessarily limited to the beaten path or traveled tract. It carries with it . . . such width as is reasonably necessary for the safety and convenience of the traveling public and for ordinary repairs and improvements.
Rice v. Neether , 2016 ND 247, ¶ 9, 888 N.W.2d 749. "In construing statutes, the specific controls the general." McKenzie Cty. v. Reichman , 2012 ND 20, ¶ 18, 812 N.W.2d 332 ; N.D.C.C. § 1-02-07. [¶6] Maines does not dispute he has prior convictions in Washington.
” However, the defendants have not alleged any government involvement with the roadway, and Wagnerhas alleged in his affidavit that “[t]he north boundary line of my property is not a section line,” the amount of traffic on the trail “was very low,” and the few persons who used it had the “permission of the owners of what is now my land.” See McKenzie County v. Reichman, 2012 ND 20, ¶ 24, 812 N.W.2d 332 (“the expenditure of public funds for maintenance of a road provides an indication the road is a public road”). The defendants argue a prescriptive easement arose as a matter of law because “the public has used the north forty feet of Wagner's property as a road for at least the past twenty years.”