Extra 3 Feet on Freeway Ramp Costs Texas County $525,000

A new ramp linking a portion of Interstate 10 to a parking facility around Houston is 28 feet high. Unfortunately, a visibility easement purchased from Harris County in 2001 by a billboard owner sets a 25-foot height limit for any structures built on neighboring property.

After losing a court case in which it argued that drivers could still see the billboard, the county has now agreed to pay Clear Channel Outdoors a $525,000 settlement, reports the Houston Chronicle. Had the pact not been reached, a state court jury would have been asked to determine damages after a March ruling in the billboard owner's favor by Judge Jacqueline Lucci Smith on the liability issue.

She held that Harris County was required to pay compensation under a Texas constitutional provision that says governmental entities can't take private property without compensation, the newspaper explains.

County officials say they aren't sure why the ramp was constructed three feet above the easement height limit. It appears that those involved in the project may have been unaware of the visibility easement.