Property owners to be advised of rights during NC 540 extension work

Two former N.C. Department of Transportation attorneys, who now work for the N.C. Eminent Domain Law Firm, will meet Thursday with property owners who may be affected by the state’s Complete 540 project to advise them on their property acquisition rights.

Lawyers Stan Abrams and Jason Campbell will host a free educational seminar about upcoming right-of-way acquisitions associated with the N.C. 540 Extension. The seminar is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites at 3741 Thistledown Drive in Raleigh.

In April, the Orange Route was selected as the preferred path for the project. The 30-mile path will connect the 540 Outer Loop east from Holly Springs to Interstate 40 south of Garner, and then to Knightdale.

An estimated 281 homes and businesses would have to be removed for the preferred route, which also will affect 74.3 acres of wetlands. Construction could start in early 2018 on the first leg of the project.

N.C. Eminent Domain Law Firm representatives expect right-of-way agents for DOT to begin contacting property owners soon to initiate the negotiation process for right-of-way acquisition, according to the firm.

“Property owners will soon begin receiving official-looking offers and think they can’t negotiate them,” Abrams said in a statement. “Just like any other buyer, they can and probably should negotiate. But they shouldn’t settle for a bad deal just because they weren’t offered more initially.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2016 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Property owners to be advised of rights during NC 540 extension work."