The eminent domain reform that passed during the last session of the Missouri General Assembly may not have been aimed at MoDOT, but the new law is already affecting MoDOT’s ability to deliver projects within budget.

HB1944 was designed to bar eminent domain from being used solely for economic development. It also implements a number of pro-landowner measures. For instance, the new law will require that those who have their homes taken by a condemning authority will receive 25 percent more than the home’s value. Under a heritage-value provision, homes, farms or businesses that have been in the same extended family for at least 50 years will automatically receive an additional 50 percent of the land’s value.

Payments under the new law, which would take affect after Dec. 31, 2006, are required only if condemnation is used. As a result, MoDOT already has to consider the affects of the new law in its negotiations.

For example, in acquiring right of way for the new I-64 project in St. Louis, negotiations are currently under way for an apartment building that has a $6 million market value. However, there is a good possibility the building has been owned by the same family for over 50 years. Under the new heritage provision, the settlement offer for the property would increase 50 percent above the fair market value, adding $3 million for a total settlement of $9 million.

“Our job is to deliver these projects on time and within budget,” said Terry Sampson, right of way director at Central Office.

Sampson is concerned that the changes in the law could cause the number of cases going to condemnation to increase. “We’ve worked hard in recent years to reduce the number of times when we use eminent domain, and it has fallen from nearly 15 percent down to around 8 percent.”

The new law also builds project notice and other timeframes into the condemnation process that could mean project delays of four months or more to MoDOT in addition to cost overruns. That could have an adverse impact on large corridor projects under development – like Route 67, Route 60, Route 36, Route 50, Route 54 and Route 5.

“We’re going to have to take a different view of right of way,” says MoDOT Chief Engineer Kevin Keith, who observed that the cost of right of way is actually growing faster than the cost of projects. “We’ll be looking to take as little right of way as possible to get the project built.”

Doing so, he says, will also mean that MoDOT’s environmental analysis will apply to a smaller area, which will lessen the impact to the public. It would also be more conducive to the practical design philosophy that now guides the design and construction of MoDOT projects.