State to obtain private land for I-85 widening
“More than 220 property owners may have to hand over pieces of their land to widen Interstate 85 through Cabarrus County. The plan is to add noise walls and four lanes to eight miles of the interstate from Highway 73 to Lane Street.
The state is starting to make offers and some homeowners are starting to meet with land attorneys to make sure North Carolina Department of Transportation treats them fairly for their property sitting under eminent domain.
“It’s going to be important for them to figure out what they are entitled to be paid for and to pursue what they are entitled to be paid for aggressively,” said Jason Campbell, a former assistant attorney general for NCDOT.
Campbell is now an attorney with the North Carolina Eminent Domain Law Firm which has been warning property owners the state may offer to pay them less than what the property is worth.
“The laws in North Carolina are stacked against them,” he said.”
Property owners have the option to challenge the state’s appraisal in court. Campbell said 84 percent of people who did get more money last year.
Deery, Jenna. WSOCTV 6 March 2015.