North Carolina
Transportation & Infrastructure Eminent Domain Attorneys
Road widenings, new highway interchanges, and rail improvements are among the most common causes of eminent domain takings — and they’re often planned years before the affected property owners are ever notified.
How Transportation Projects Lead to Takings
State departments of transportation and other agencies acquire private property through a formal right-of-way process to build and widen roads, construct interchanges, and improve rail corridors. These projects frequently require only a strip of land along the front of a property, a permanent drainage or utility easement, or a temporary construction easement — full takings of an entire property are less common than partial ones.
Partial Takings and Access Impacts
A road project doesn’t have to take your home or business to affect its value significantly. Losing frontage, a driveway entrance, a turn lane, or direct access to a roadway can change how a property functions and what it’s worth — even when the taking itself is a narrow strip of land. These access-related impacts should be part of any compensation discussion, not just the square footage physically taken.
The Government Has Been Planning — You Just Found Out
By the time a property owner receives an official notice, the agency has typically spent months or years planning the project, including engineering, environmental review, and budgeting. That head start means the agency’s team is well prepared to make its case for a lower valuation. Having your own attorney and appraiser review the project early helps level that playing field.
Negotiating Before Condemnation
Most transportation takings proceed through a negotiation period before a condemnation lawsuit is filed. This window is an important opportunity to present an independent appraisal, document project-specific impacts like lost access or visibility, and negotiate for full and fair compensation — ideally before the matter needs to go to court at all.
Frequently Asked Questions
Transportation projects are frequently planned months or years before affected property owners are formally notified, including engineering design, environmental review, and budgeting.
A right-of-way taking is the acquisition of land — often a strip along a road frontage — needed to build, widen, or improve a public roadway. It can be a full taking, a partial taking, or a permanent or temporary easement, depending on the project.
Changes to access, such as the loss or relocation of a driveway or turn lane, can be a significant factor in valuing a transportation taking, even when the physical land taken is minor.
A temporary construction easement allows the agency to use part of your land only during construction and should be released once the project is complete. A permanent taking or easement is a lasting acquisition of land or rights, even if you retain underlying ownership.
Yes. Every property owner has the right to challenge the government’s initial offer and to negotiate based on an independent appraisal before the matter proceeds to condemnation, if necessary.
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