Property owners face expropriation for Regina bypass
Province says 62% of property owners have reached agreements to sell
The expropriation process to acquire land for the Regina bypass is underway as several property owners have not agreed to terms offered by the province. Officials say 62 per cent of land owners have accepted offers.
According to the government, negotiations are ongoing and although the expropriation process has begun it remains possible that agreements will be reached before the process reaches the courts for a final determination from a judge.
The province said Tuesday that it has been working with a total of 104 land owners.
One of them is Bruce Bolingbroke, who has lived on land near Highway 1 east of Regina for 32 years.
Portions of his land, including the spot where his house stands, are included in the needs for the bypass — a multi-billion-dollar project to divert highway traffic around Regina. Construction alone is estimated to cost $1.88 billion and take several years to complete.
Officials have not said what the tally for land acquisition will be.
Bolingbroke said Tuesday he is facing expropriation because he believes the government has undervalued his property.
"I didn't take a deal from them," he said, adding he expects it will cost him some money to go through the expropriation process. "Just to get the ball rolling: $4,000 for a commercial appraisal on this property."
Bolingbroke said he estimates the government's offer is as much as five times lower than what he thinks his land could be valued at.
"I'm not saying give me $200,000 an acre, but at least bring your offer up," he said. "I can't fight them. I physically don't want to fight them and financially I can't fight them."
Joel Cherry, a spokesman for the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, said the Regina bypass is a large and complex project and officials are working diligently on the land acquisition phase.
"We want everyone to get fair value for their land and we want to make sure we're good stewards of the taxpayers dollars," Cherry said. "Our priority is always to try to reach an agreement with landowners and expropriation really is a last resort."
Cherry said the current focus of the project is the stretch of work to be done east of Regina and the province does not want to have work delayed.
"East of Regina is where we prioritized," He said. "That is because of safety issues and highway congestion."
Construction on that area of the bypass is slated to begin later this year.
With files from CBC's Adam Hunter