One of my properties sits at an intersection the state DOT wants to turn into a roundabout. That means a piece of it — maybe all of it — is headed for eminent domain acquisition. I retained a law firm that specializes in this exact situation, and their team has been responsive and professional.
But I didn't wait on them for everything.
Government projects leave a public paper trail
Big infrastructure projects like this one almost always have a public project page somewhere on the state DOT's website — a project ID number, a cost breakdown by phase (design, right-of-way, construction), a project manager's name, sometimes even a public comment period with the agency's official responses.
I found mine, and it told me something concrete: right-of-way acquisition — the phase where property owners actually get approached with offers — was funded for the current fiscal year. Construction itself wasn't funded until the following year. That single detail told me the "we'll start negotiations sometime this fall" I'd been given wasn't vague reassurance — it lined up with a real, published government budget line.
Why this is worth doing yourself
Your attorney's job is to negotiate on your behalf once an offer shows up. It's not always their job to proactively hunt down every public data point about the project's timeline — and honestly, you can do that part yourself, often faster than waiting for an update. It also means when you do talk to your legal team, you're asking sharper questions instead of just asking "so... any news?"
The takeaway
If a government project is affecting your property, look up the project by name on the relevant agency's website before assuming you're in the dark until someone calls you. Cost breakdowns and phase funding are usually public information, and they can tell you more about real timing than any verbal estimate.