Somerton Turnpike

Citations

• 16 Pa. Super. 400
• 1901 Pa. Super. LEXIS 85

Syllabus

<p>Turnpike roads — Condemnation for public use — Duties of master — Act of June 2, 1887, P. L. 806.</p> <p>Proceedings to condemn a turnpike road and free it from tolls and tollgates, will be set aside where the master in violation of the Act of June 2, 1887, P. L. 306, in his charge to the viewers expresses his opinion on facts and values, minimizes the testimony of witnesses called by the turnpike company, gives his opinion of the effect of such testimony and the measure of credence to be given to it, and instructs the jury in effect to ignore the roadbed proper in estimating the damages.</p> <p>The measure of damages in proceedings to condemn a turnpike road is the value of the property at the time of the taking to the owners, not only the mere value of the road itself, the mere structure or physical turnpike, its tollhouses and gates, but plaintiff’s entire property rights with the value of its franchises in connection with those property rights under and by virtue of which they are used and enjoyed.</p> <p>The roadway of a turnpike is property, and is worth to the municipality the amount it would have cost the latter to have graded and macadamized the road as it was when taken.</p>