Johnson Bros. Grocery, Inc. v. State Dept. of Highways by Spannaus

• Decision Date: 09 May 1975
• Docket Number: No. 44925,44925
• Parties: JOHNSON BROTHERS GROCERY, INC., Respondent, v. STATE of Minnesota, DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS, By Warren SPANNAUS, Its Attorney General, and by Ray Lappegaard, Its Commissioner of Highways, Appellant.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

Page 504

229 N.W.2d 504

304 Minn. 75

JOHNSON BROTHERS GROCERY, INC., Respondent, v. STATE of Minnesota, DEPARTMENT OF HIGHWAYS, By Warren

SPANNAUS, Its Attorney General, and by Ray

Lappegaard, Its Commissioner of

Highways, Appellant.

No. 44925.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

May 9, 1975.

Syllabus by the Court

Where a highway which abuts petitioner's property, and to which petitioner had direct and unlimited access, is rebuilt into a divided, four-lane, limited-access highway in a manner which denies reasonably convenient and suitable access to the new highway in at least one direction, a constitutional taking has occurred for which compensation must be made.

Warren Spannaus, Atty. Gen., Eric B. Schultz, Deputy Atty. Gen., Donald E. Notvik, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., St. Paul, for appellant.

Rowland & Mertensotto and John C. Rowland, St. Paul, for respondent.

Considered and decided by the court en banc.

ROGOSHESKE, Justice.

Appeal from an order of the district court granting Johnson Brothers Grocery, Inc. (Johnson), a writ of mandamus compelling the State of Minnesota to commence condemnation proceedings to compensate Johnson for the constitutional taking effected by orders of the commissioner of highways closing an access opening to Interstate Highway No. 94 (I--94), a divided, four-lane, limited-access highway, formerly designated as Trunk Highway No. 12. We affirm.

Johnson is the owner of 6.61 acres located on the north side of Hudson Road between Frank and Griffith Streets in St. Paul and presently operates a large retail liquor store on the premises.

In 1933, Hudson Road (then called Hastings Avenue) was designated by order of the commissioner of highways as the temporary location of Trunk Highway No. 12. At that time, the owner of the property had direct and unlimited access to that conventional two-lane highway, the main state highway between St. Paul and Hudson, Wisconsin. By subsequent orders of the highway commissioner and by subsequent construction during the late 1940's, the main four lanes of No. 12 were shifted to a new and permanent location parallel to and immediately south of Hudson Road. Hudson Road, which abuts the Johnson property, was included within the right-of-way of No. 12, and an access opening was created between Hudson Road and the main eastbound and westbound lanes at a point immediately across from the Johnson property. As a part of the same construction project, Hudson Road was curved to the north to join with Griffith Street, and condemnation proceedings were instituted in 1946 to compensate the Johnson property owner for a partial taking of the southeast corner of the property to accomplish the curve.

At the completion of the construction of No. 12 in the late 1940's, both the eastbound and the westbound lanes of No. 12 remained accessible from the Johnson property by a driver's exiting from the Johnson parking lot, crossing Hudson Road, and then proceeding through the access opening either to the westbound lane or by means of a crossover to the eastbound lane.

At some time prior to 1971, the crossover between the lanes was closed, leaving access from Hudson Road to the westbound lane only. In 1973, by amended access order, the access opening between No. 12 and Hudson Road was closed as a part of a construction project to upgrade No. 12 to interstate highway...