When my wife and I were looking for a house in North Raleigh about a dozen years ago, we found one we liked off Litchford Road. But I was curious about some cleared trees just beyond the backyard.

I asked the builder's representative who was showing us around what was going to be built there.

"A new highway," she responded. That new highway was I-540.

Now, I can't say for sure whether she would have told us about the home being a stone's throw from a superhighway unless I had asked. But let's just say I'm glad I noticed the cleared trees.

Lately, we have been getting a fair amount of complaints from people in the path of the third phase of the N.C. 98 Bypass.

No doubt this road will be a convenience for motorists, allowing them to bypass congested surface roads.

The first two sections of the 4.7 mile road -- from N.C. 98 east of Jones Dairy Road to west of South Main Street, and from South Main Street to Capital Boulevard -- are already open. Work is just getting underway on the last segment, from Capital back to N.C. 98, near Thompson Mill Road.

That section seems to be getting the most complaints. Some have said they didn't know the road was going in when they bought their homes. I can believe that -- although that would mean that whoever sold them the house has some 'splaining to do.

A highway being built near a home is a "material fact" that should be disclosed to any potential homebuyer, said Roani Carter, a real estate broker who sells homes in that area.

She doubts anyone who bought property through a real estate agent would not have been told about the highway.

"If you're a real estate agent and you live in Raleigh or Cary and you don't know that they're putting in the 98 Bypass, you really shouldn't be calling yourself a Realtor," Carter said.

The road was planned so long ago, though, that some may have forgotten what they were told.

Even some who knew about the bypass are unhappy. Pam Lechuga, who lives three houses away from the road's path, wants to know why no noise barrier is planned. A barrier would also increase safety for nearby homes, she points out.

She has gotten the runaround. "Everyone is playing the game of, 'I'm not responsible,' " she said.

My efforts to reach DOT and find out who would be responsible for building a barrier were unsuccessful, so I can relate.

If you're buying a home anywhere in this fast-growing area, do your homework.