Valuation
Access is a property right, within limits
An owner whose land abuts a public road holds a right of reasonable access to it. Takings that destroy or substantially impair that right are compensable. Takings that merely make the journey longer generally are not.
The distinction
Impairment and inconvenience
Substantial impairment
The remaining access is unsuitable for the property\u2019s highest and best use. A truck depot that can no longer admit trucks, or a site whose only entrance is on a bend with no sight line, has lost something the market will price.
Circuity of travel
Customers must now drive further or approach from the other direction. Almost every jurisdiction treats this as non compensable, because it is shared with everyone else on the road and the right is to access, not to a particular route.
Common scenarios
How access changes are usually treated
| Change | Typical treatment |
|---|---|
| Driveway removed with no replacement | Compensable, often substantially |
| Driveway relocated, same road, similar utility | Cost to cure, with damages if utility is reduced |
| Median installed, left turns eliminated | Usually not compensable as a taking of access |
| Full access reduced to right in, right out | Contested; compensable in some states where use is impaired |
| Frontage road substituted for direct access | Fact dependent; turns on whether the substitute is reasonable |
| Access point narrowed below delivery vehicle turning radius | Generally compensable where the use requires it |
Valuation
How an access loss shows up in the numbers
Access harm is valued in the after value, like any other effect on the remainder. The appraiser asks what the remainder is worth with the access it will have, and the gap against the before value is the measure.
For commercial property the effect can be severe and quickly visible in comparable sales: convenience retail, fuel stations and drive through uses depend directly on ease of entry. For residential property the effect is usually smaller unless access becomes genuinely difficult. For industrial and agricultural property the question is almost always whether the vehicles the operation requires can still get in.
Questions about access
They are closing the median so customers cannot turn into my shop. Is that compensable
In most states, no, if your driveway itself is untouched. Median changes are treated as an exercise of police power over traffic rather than a taking of access, however real the commercial effect.
My driveway is being moved thirty feet. Do I get anything
Usually the cost of the new driveway, as a cost to cure. If the new location is materially worse, for example on a slope or with a poorer sight line, there may be damages beyond the construction cost.
The new road is higher than my land. Does that count as access loss
It can, where the grade difference makes entry impractical. Grade separation claims are common on highway projects and are usually argued as both access impairment and severance damage.
Get a valuation question answered
If an offer has arrived and the number does not match what you believe the property is worth, the appraisal behind it is the place to look. Start with the pages below.