There is a stretch of homes built in the early 1960’s just south of Interstate 635, most on slab foundations, running about 1500 to 2500 square feet in size. Built of brick, stone and wood siding, the homes were likely constructed by production builders as affordable starter homes as Dallas stretched. There was no LBJ Freeway behind them when they were built. I try to think back to those days whenever I am stuck in the never-ending story of mess that LBJ has become.
Personally, I don’t think it will ever be finished.
It’s bad enough to drive on it, but what if you lived within ear-shot or eye-shot of that mess? What if your back-yard view was cranes and construction 24/7 (with those super bright night lights) for the last six years? (LBJ re-construction started in 2011.) Pretty bad.
Now some of these people are suing the contractor “completing” the work on LBJ. They claim the road work is destroying their homes. And their lives. About 20 Dallas and Farmers Branch residents have jointly sued Trinity Infrastructure, the contractor responsible for turning LBJ Freeway into the LBJ Express, claiming the extensive road work is destroying their homes and businesses.
In a lawsuit filed this week (April 2) in Dallas County court, the plaintiffs — who are seeking class-action status — claim they have “endured loss of use and enjoyment of their properties.” Collectively they’re seeking more than $1 million in damages. Says the suit, Trinity Infrastructure’s construction activities “such as pile driving, boring, blasting, heavy traffic loads, deep excavation, and/or dewatering produced differential soil settlement and strong levels of vibration which caused damage to the Plaintiffs’ and the class members’ structures and improvements — in addition to the loss of lateral support from deep excavation through the class area and bordering many of the Plaintiffs and class members’ homes.” In other words, they’re claiming, all that pounding and digging is ruining their foundations, cracking their drywall and making for generally unhappy homes.
The plaintiffs claim construction is “lifting and dropping” some homes, causing cracks in the walls. The contactors deny responsibility. And won’t talk about the case pending attorney’s orders.
When I read about this case last Thursday, I went over to the area and snapped shots of the homes on High Meadow Drive. This case will be interesting. I drove High Meadow from Webbs Chapel to Marsh, where these homes are clustered. Most of the homes are 55 years old. How long are homes supposed to last, anyway? Seemed like a nice neighborhood, though a few speedy-gonzales drivers sped down the street without thinking of pets or child safety. The homes in the cul-de-sacs appear to be even closer to the LBJ action. But then I crossed Marsh, and headed east towards Midway, and the homes changed: more brick, more substance, more expensive. I don’t think anyone in this neighborhood is suing the LBJ road construction contractor.
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What do you think? Is LBJ Highway re-construction damaging these homes? What about recent earthquakes? Will we live to see the day when LBJ is a completed highway?
