Barriers and Recommendations for Right-of-Way Acquisition Process
Publication: Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction
Volume 15, Issue 2
Abstract
Right-of-way (ROW) acquisition consumes a large portion of a transportation project’s budget, and it continues to grow more expensive, complicated, and time-consuming for project execution. This paper identifies ROW acquisition challenges and barriers as a result of the 2006 eminent domain law change in the state of Minnesota. Additionally, the study identifies the root causes for the identified barriers and recommends actions to overcome them. Property owners are intended to be protected under the eminent domain legislation against the government seizing their property for an unfair price. Many practitioners, however, think the legal change has complicated the ROW acquisition process and led to a substantial cost surge. The study investigates the barriers associated with the ROW acquisition process, and conducted a statewide questionnaire, expert interviews, and analysis of individual projects. An extensive literature review and input from the Minnesota Department of Transportation technical advisory panel were used to identify initial barriers associated with the ROW acquisition process. The survey was distributed to all ROW acquisition professionals in Minnesota to collect data on the severity and impact of ROW acquisition barriers and practices. Additionally, the statewide survey was designed to collect data regarding unidentified ROW acquisition barriers and practices. The survey results were also used to conduct unstructured interviews with ROW professionals in urban counties in Minnesota because they face more condemnation cases when compared with ROW acquisition cases in rural areas. Additionally, the authors carefully selected individual projects to identify the barriers that affect the ROW acquisition process. This paper presents the root causes of ROW acquisition barriers and recommendations to address the negative impacts of those barriers on ROW acquisition. A total of 11 barriers and their root causes are identified based on the statewide questionnaire, expert interviews, and analysis of case studies. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying ROW acquisition barriers and recommendations from which other state highway agencies can benefit.
Practical Applications
This work thoroughly investigates the implications of ROW legislation change on public agencies and property owners. First, the paper identifies barriers and challenges facing ROW acquisition using case studies, expert questionnaires, and interviews. Second, a list of recommendations to overcome these barriers is identified to facilitate the ROW acquisition process. Finally, ROW practitioners and government agencies can benefit from the recommendations identified in this work to improve the ROW acquisition process.
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Data Availability Statement
Some data used during the study were provided by a third party, including individual project data. Direct request for these materials may be made to the provider as indicated in the Acknowledgments.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to acknowledge the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and Local Road Research Board (LRRB) for sponsoring this project. The authors also want to thank the Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) members and the various county personnel who assisted in this project.
References
List of Statutes
Minnesota Statutes 2014. Minnesota Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act. §117.031-036.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction
Volume 15 • Issue 2 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 10, 2022
Accepted: Dec 7, 2022
Published online: Feb 6, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jul 6, 2023
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