The Jimmy Deloach Connector Project will include the construction of a road on new alignment beginning at Bourne Avenue and extend 3.1 miles north to the existing Jimmy Deloach Parkway located East of I-95 near the Port of Savannah’s Gate.  The project is primarily located in Port Wentworth, Chatham County, Georgia.  New interchanges will be constructed at both Grange Road and Jimmy Deloach Parkway.  The project is needed to provide faster truck movement into and out of the Savannah Port from SR 21 and provide an alternate route to accommodate increasing truck traffic entering and exiting the Savannah Port.

In December 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation awarded a $73 million contract for its construction.  The Savannah Morning News said in a December article that “the Port authority and state transportation officials have said the new roadway is critical to improving port access and growing the state’s logistics industry”.

View the layout of the project below, which shows the affected properties and road alignment (the file is large and may take time to download):

Jimmy Deloach Parkway Connector Project Layout

Property acquisition is underway for this project, and The State of Georgia has the authority to use eminent domain if negotiations can not be reached.  If you are affected by this project, you should know that the government is required by law to pay you just compensation.  The calculation of just compensation often involves a wide range of issues which government appraisers typically do not consider such as the highest and best use of the property, damages to the remainder parcel, and/or special damages to the property such as restricted access, zoning, permitting, etc. as a result of the taking.

If you reject the government’s offer, it still has to pay you that money, and this does not jeopardize your right to get more money in the eminent domain hearing.  Oftentimes, a property owner will only receive just compensation by allowing condemnation to occur. In condemnation, an owner can show that the rules for highest and best use will produce a higher price than the amount offered by the government.

Learn more about Georgia eminent domain.

Suggested reading

The Importance of Selecting an Appraiser

3 Things to Consider when Speaking to the Authorities

Suggested videos:

Eminent domain strategy considerations

Eminent domain damages

Eminent domain severance damages

Contact us for more information on this project and your rights in the eminent domain process.

Last spring, our firm participated in a mock congressional hearing on the claims of the Harris Neck Land Trust at Emory Law School in Georgia.  The hearing was designed to assist the Harris Neck Land Trust effort to win congressional backing to recover the land now controlled by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  If you are not familiar with this movement, you should read more about their story.

Significant progress was made in December on the struggle for Justice by former members of the Harris Neck community and their descendants.  A hearing before the House of Representative’s Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs was held on December 15th, 2011.  Many issues were considered, including the eminent domain violations in the 1942 taking, and the Trust’s plans for its proposed new community.  The Harris Neck Land Trust gained the support of the subcommittee members who further directed the Fish & Wildlife Service to carefully examine how they obtained this property, determine whether all members were fully and justly compensated, and consider the remedies available to provide justice to all members of Harris Neck.  The next step in the process is the introduction, and then Committee consideration, of a legislative solution.

Read the Harris Neck Press Release

The highly contested project involves the construction of a new 2-lane road extending from Sandy Creek Road to the intersection of Ga. Highway 92 and Westbridge Road, approximately 4 miles in length.  The project is designed to reduce congestion within the City of Fayetteville by providing an alternate North South Route, and to create connectivity between State Route 85 south (near Harp Road) and SR 92 north at Westbridge Road.

Phase I begins at Cleveland Elementary on Lester Road, proceeds north across SR 54, and ends at Sandy Creek Road between the Hospital and Hood Road.  Phase III runs from the southern end of Phase I on Lester Road to Harp Road.

Residents of the City of Fayetteville have strongly opposed the project since its inception claiming that the road is unnecessary and that the use of existing roads is a better alternative to constructing a new road.   Issues have been raised by residents at almost every county board of commissioners meetings this year regarding the project.  Newly elected county commissioners Steve Brown and Allen McCarty oppose the project and have voted against measures that support the progression of the project.

Although the project is progressing on schedule, County Commissioner Allen McCarty recently made a statement in support of providing property owners with compensation higher than fair market value to help them cover the costs of their mortgages in a depressed economy.    One property owner claims they will be $20,000 in the hole based upon the offer made by the county.   “The county should not consider taking a person’s property if we can’t make them whole,” McCarty said.. “… How do they pay a mortgage on a house they no longer own?”

This issue will be addressed Wednesday, May 4^th at the commission’s 3:30 p.m. workshop meeting at the county’s Stonewall government complex in downtown Fayetteville.  We tip our hats to Commissioner McCarty for his attempt at providing property owners with additional compensation.  After all, these property owners would not be selling their property at a loss in today’s market if the government wasn’t forcing a sale.

Property acquisition is currently underway for phase II and the project layout is provided below, which shows the alignment of the new road and the affected properties.  Eminent domain can be used if negotiations can not be reached.  Property owners are advised to consult with an eminent domain attorney prior to signing off on an offer or obtaining an appraisal on their own.  The government’s offer of compensation will be based upon a valuation made by an appraiser hired by the government. These appraisers often have long-standing relationships with the government, and their appraisals may contain errors such as using incorrect comparables, or they may not value your property at its “highest and best use”.  Frequently, they ignore severance issues or dramatically understate their significance and impact.  Having an eminent domain attorney review the condemning authority’s appraisal and offer will help you determine if the offer is fair, or if you are entitled to additional just compensation under the rules of eminent domain law.

West Fayetteville Bypass-Phase II Layout

For more information on the project, visit the Fayette County Project Website.

We recently participated in a mock congressional hearing on the claims of the Harris Neck Land Trust at Emory Law School in Georgia.  The hearing was designed to assist the Harris Neck Land Trust effort to win congressional backing to recover the land now controlled by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  A brief history of the situation is provided below.  We provided the following testimony during the mock hearing and will provide similar testimony at a congressional hearing:

1. The takings violated the just compensation standard. Some families were not paid at all.  The families that were paid were not given just compensation because they were only paid for their  land and not for improvements such as buildings.  The lack of justness in compensation is further evidenced by the fact that the white landowners, who were not Harris Neck residents, were paid 40% more than the African American landowners.

2. The takings violated the 5^th Amendment due process requirements by failing to provide residents with individualized notice of the compensation award proceedings.

3. The residents of Harris Neck should have had the opportunity to repurchase the land.  Federal agents made oral promises that, at the end of WWII, the residents would have this opportunity.

Harris Neck Farms is a stunning 2600 acres of land nestled along the Georgia Coast.  The history of Harris Neck Farms is a heart-wrenching story that began shortly after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865, when landowner Margaret Ann Harris bequeathed her land, Harris Neck Farms, to her former slave Robert Dellegall and his heirs in her will.

Harris Neck became an isolated community of small farms tended to by the former slaves and their families.  They were a hard working and self sufficient group of individuals who were dependent upon the land and the bounty provided by the sounds, streams and marshes in the area, where residents regularly rowed their heavy bateaus out on ebb tide to collect oysters, shrimp and mullet.

In the 1940’s, during WWII, Washington needed an emergency air strip along the Georgia coast for Air Force planes to guard against the threat of German U-boats.  The government was led to Harris Neck Farms by a few local power brokers, and decided that they needed the land.  They asked the 75 families to move, and the residents responded patriotically.  They received a modest amount of money plus an assurance that after the war was over, they would get their land back.  Their homes were bulldozed and their crops burned to make way for the airstrip that was necessary to help protect the nation against the Germans.

Over 40 years have gone by and their promised land was never returned to them.  Since the initial transaction in 1940, the land was turned over to the county to be used for a civilian airport.  That never got off the ground, so the county leased the land, and casinos and brothels became prevalent.  Finally, it went back to the federal government where it became the wildlife refuge that it is today.  During this time, the former residents pleaded to get their land back.

At the time of the taking, the residents were never presented with and never signed any contracts.  When asked in a 1983 60 Minutes interview why the residents didn’t demand contracts and take initiative to make sure they were treated fairly, one resident stated that a black person in southern United States in the 1940’s didn’t have the means to exercise their rights and more importantly, the residents at the time didn’t know how to conduct business in that manner.  Additionally, they had faith in their government to reinstate their rights as verbally promised to them.  Not surprisingly, the US defense department claims they have no records regarding the transactions that occurred at Harris Neck Farms in the 1940’s.

Richard Epstein stated in his book on takings, “the quid pro quo when the government takes somebody’s property is that if you want to use your coercive powers to take away the property of individual citizens, you  must provide benefits to the individuals who have been coerced, that leave them at least as well off as they were before.”  Serious claims have been brought from the people who own this property that have not been left as least well off.

The former residents of Harris Neck have unsuccessfully tried to get their land back over the past 40 years.  They have even requested to lease just a small portion of their former land in order to continue farming, fishing and using the property how it would be used today if the government had not taken it from them. They are now planning to exercise their 1^st amendment right as citizens of this country to petition the government for redress of grievances.  The former residents are hopeful that a Congressional Hearing will help them reclaim their land.

Make a donation to the Harris Neck Land Trust, or learn more about their story.   Learn more about Emory Law School.

The Georgia Department of Transportation is planning on widening SR 96 from just East of I-75 to Old Hawkinsville Road.  The purpose and need for the project is to improve capacity, operational efficiency, and continuity of the SR 96 corridor between I-75 and Old Hawkinsville Road, as growth along the corridor continues.  The proposed project will create additional capacity thus allowing traffic to move more smoothly through the Bonaire area.

Acquisition of Private Property and Eminent Domain

The construction of this project will require the acquisition of private property.  Because the project serves a public purpose and use, eminent domain can be used if negotiations can not be reached.  Property owners undergoing eminent domain have the right to receive just compensation for the property being taken and compensation for damages done to the remaining land.   By law, just compensation must be determined by the property’s highest and best use value.  Property owners can enlist the services of an Georgia eminent domain attorney to make sure they receive the highest amount of compensation for their land.  Unfortunately, Georgia state law does not have an attorney fee recovery statute for property owners pursuing additional compensation, however, an attorney can typically be hired on a contingent fee basis.

It’s important to learn more about your rights in the eminent domain process; read more about Georgia Eminent Domain.

Project Status and Maps

ROW money was authorized for the project in 2010, which means property acquisition can commence.  Construction is not scheduled until 2014.  Project layouts showing the alignment of the project and affected properties are listed below along with additional project documents.

SR 96 Project Layout

SR 96 Widening Project Information

Biersdorf & Associates Project # 4109.003

Condemning Authority:  Georgia Department of Transportation

The project will begin on I-75 from where the current system ends at Akers Mill Road and continue to Hickory Grove Roadand, where it is proposed to construct two reversible lanes of HOV/HOT on southbound side of I-75 between I-285 and I-575.  North of I-575 and on I-575, there is proposed to be only one reversible lane.  A barrier separated system is proposed, and access points will be provided at select locations which will not interfere with general use interchange operation.

Right of way acquisition is scheduled between fiscal year 2010 and 2012. With this program date, the earliest that right of way acquisition could begin is in fiscal year 2010, which runs from July 2009 to June 2010.   

However, the scope and schedule are currently under review and no official approval has been made on the revised concept for this project.  Right of way plans have not been developed, so at this time the extent of right of way impact is unknown.  

The Department is currently on schedule for approval of environmental documention by June 2010.

Call us at 866.339.7242 if you have questions about the project, or think you may be affected by it. 

June 9, 2009

The new toll lane proposal for the I-75 and I-575 project in Cobb and Cherokee counties has scaled back from eight lanes to two, according to a state Department of Transportation staff official.

The original proposal, which included eight single-direction toll lanes on I-75, would have designated four lanes for trucks and four for cars.  However, budget cuts have caused the project to scale back.

The original eight-lane proposal came to an estimated $4 billion, nearly $2.2 billion more than an earlier estimate. The state of Georgia orginially had $967 million for the project, which would be added to the anticipated money from the tolls. However, that money is not available anymore.

To read the entire story, click here.

May 14, 2009

The I-75/I-575 Northwest Corridor Project does not have a scheduled construction date yet.

The project will construct two reversible lanes of HOV/HOT on the southbound side of I-75 between I-285 and I-575. It will add one reversible lane North of I-575 and on I-575 and accommodate improved local and express bus service proposed by the GRTA.

Right-of-way acquisitions could start as early as July 2009 but so far no definite schedule has been set. The environmental assessment for the project should be completed by the deadline of June 2010.

 May 27, 2008 

The following information was taken from the Norhtwest I-75/I-575 HOV/BRT project homepage.  Please visit the following link for additional information: http://www.nwhovbrt.com/

The Northwest Corridor Project is an innovative project utilizing the collaborative resources of two key Georgia State agencies, Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) and Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA).  The two agencies have combined their own individual projects, the I-75/I-575 HOV Lanes Extension Project and the Northwest Connectivity Study, as a means to efficiently move through the federally required environmental process and expedite implementation.  The project has been identified by Governor Perdue’s Fast Forward transportation program as a top priority for the Atlanta region.

The proposed project currently under consideration provides for the extension of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on I-75 north from Akers Mill Road to north of Hickory Grove Road, construction of new HOV ramps and interchanges for access to the system, and implementation of express bus or bus rapid transit (BRT) services supported by transit stations, park-and-ride lots, and various bus priority improvements.  Additionally, HOV lanes are also proposed on I-575 from the I-75/I-575 Interchange to Sixes Road in Cherokee County.  Truck Only lanes (TOL) are also proposed for consideration on I-75.  The truck only lanes would be constructed within the same limits on I-75 as the HOV lanes and would be barrier separated from the general purpose and HOV lanes. The alternatives under consideration also include options for tolling the HOV and truck-only lanes.

GDOT has assumed the role of lead state agency in the preparation of the environmental studies, in cooperation with GRTA and the corresponding federal agencies, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA).

Public Hearings -

May 29, 2007
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Cobb Civic Center

May 31, 2007
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Woodstock High School Gym

June 5, 2007
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Atlanta Civic Center

As of May, 2008, we’ve been informed that the scope and the schedule for the project are currently being re-examined as part of a statewide transportation prioritization process, currently scheduled to be complete this fall.  If the state decides to proceed with the project, property acquisition will begin at the earliest one year later.  Currently, the preferred alternative has not been selected for the project and construction dates have not been established.

For further information on this project, please call us at 866.339.7242

Biersdorf & Associates Project # 4119.001

Condemning Authority: Georgia Department of Transportation

Right-of-acquisitions are currently underway for the US 411 Connector Project.

The roadway will provide a connection between US 411 at its interchange with US 41 West of Catersville and I-75. It will also relieve congestion along the US 411/SR 20 corridor to I-75.

Construction dates have not yet been scheduled.

To view an interactive map of the project, click here.

To view other maps click the links.

Map1 Map2 Map3 Map 4 Map5 Map6

For more information about this project, call us at 866.339.7242.