Barriers and Recommendations for Right-of-Way Acquisition Process

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. 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.