The $4.3 million billboard: A case study in condemnation costs

Documents reveal that the Minnesota Department of Transportation agreed to spend over $4.3 million in public funds for the removal of a digital billboard as part of a bridge reconstruction project.  The billboard’s removal was necessitated by a project currently underway to replace the Lafayette Bridge, which carries state highway 52 over the Mississippi River near downtown St. Paul.  The state paid the billboard’s owner, Clear Channel Outdoor, $4,321,000 for the condemnation of a single digital billboard.  Clear Channel retained ownership of the billboard and is believed to have relocated the sign to Minneapolis soon after its removal.

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