Texas Department of Transportation v. City of Sunset Valley

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) destroyed a portion of Jones Road in the City of Sunset Valley when it expanded State Highway 290. To regain the vital transportation link lost in the expansion, the City constructed a substitute street. We must decide whether the City can recover the cost of that construction from TxDOT under section 203.058(a) of the Texas Transportation Code, the common law of nuisance, or Article I, section 17 of the Texas Constitution. We hold that it cannot because (1) section 203.058(a) does not waive TxDOT’s immunity from suit, nor is the City a state…