For residents in Forsyth county affected by the Eastern Loop of the beltway, the news that Governor Perdue delivered at Tuesday's Transportation Summit was music to their ears. For almost 25 years the beltway has been proposed to circumvent the ever-congested highways and interstates that dissect Winston-Salem. The swath of the projected path has held up hundreds if not thousands of residents from selling their homes, making basic permitted improvements and has created a sense of uncertainty that only adds major anxiety in already tough economic times.
If a homeowner in the original projected path wanted to sell, they had to disclose that the area may in fact be either purchased or impacted by the road project. This impact could range from something as simple as being several hundred yards away, no closer than they currently were to I40 or from something complex and usually ambiguous such as noise cone projections, landscape berms and buffers or actually seeing their home in the mist of the proposed road bed. Deciphering these complex engineered maps that were provided online and constantly in a state of flux was left best to engineers and other transportation experts. However, even they could not give a timeline, project approval or home buyout offers. As a result, these land and home owners were forced to "sit" on property that had in many cases decreased in value as a result of the proposal. Bottom line was who would want to buy one of these properties without knowing the true future impact whether good or bad? Fast forward to today.
In recent months the DOT has been very aggressively purchasing properties in the proposed area for residents that can fill out the paperwork, get the appropriate letters in place and prove that they have a financial or physical hardship. These hardship purchases in my opinion were a good start and have gone very smoothly with processes in place that all of the sellers and buyers I have worked with, feel are very fair and seamless.
It is my sincere hope that with the Governor's announcement that the remainder of the properties can be acquired beginning in 2013 so that these folks can move on with their lives and rid themselves of the uncertainty that this has brought. According to Perdue's statement, purchases will begin 2013 with construction on the first segment beginning 2014. Folks that is just around the corner and couldn't come soon enough!
Are you being impacted by this project? If so what are your thoughts on the Governor's plan? To read a great summary article from The Triad Business Journal click the following link:
Governor Perdue Commits To Starting Urban Loop
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