The department may acquire needed property for highway right-of-way projects, may enter land for surveys with notice, must reimburse actual damages, and must issue rules to help relocate utility and railroad facilities.
§217. Acquisition of rights-of-way and servitudes; entry for purpose of surveys, soundings, drillings, and examinations A.(1) The department may by donation, purchase, exchange, lease, or expropriation, without any competitive bidding, acquire any immovable property, public or private, or the use thereof, including servitudes, lands, and improvements on lands necessary for the right-of-way of any highway included in the state highway system or any appurtenance thereto and for any of the purposes of this Chapter, including whatever property rights are necessary to restore access to property that has been landlocked by highway construction or those property rights which are necessary for the relocation of public utility and railroad facilities to accommodate the construction and maintenance of a state highway and the appurtenances thereto. (2) Upon application by the owner of property which is necessary for the highway right-of-way of a project established and approved under the Transportation Infrastructure Model for Economic Development, as provided for in Part VI of Chapter 7 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, the department shall commence negotiations with the property owner to acquire the property. Negotiations may begin upon verification through the preliminary planning process that the property is required for the right-of-way. However, no property shall be acquired under the provisions of this Paragraph until the director of real estate has determined that sufficient funds are available. B. Where the consent of a property owner has not been otherwise obtained, the Department of Transportation and Development and its authorized agents and employees shall also have the power to enter upon any lands, waters, and premises in the state for the purpose of making surveys, soundings, drillings, and examinations as it may deem necessary or convenient for the purpose of this Chapter and Section, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass, nor shall such entry for such purpose be deemed an entry under any eminent domain proceedings which may be then pending, provided that registered notice of five days to resident owners and fifteen days to nonresident owners shall be given to the last record property owner as reflected by the parish assessment rolls, which said notice shall be mailed to the last known and recorded address of said owner as reflected by said assessment records. C. The Department of Transportation and Development shall make reimbursement for any actual damages resulting to such lands, waters, and premises as a result of such activities. D. In order to facilitate the acquisition of servitudes for the relocation of public utility and railroad facilities, the Department of Transportation and Development shall promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (R.S. 49:950 et seq.). Acts 1987, No. 642, §1; Acts 2003, No. 180, §1.