Elderly Black women forced to move after a 3 year struggle with the Texas Transit Dept.

Dora Overton of Tarrant County has been in a long battle with the Texas Department of Transportation, and it is now forcing her to leave her home of 40 years. Last year, while she was in the hospital, she received a letter from TxDOT regarding the expansion of Interstate 20, which runs directly south of her home.

The plan was to widen I-20 to 10 main lanes, I-820 to eight main lanes, and reconstruct the I-20, I-820, and US 287 interchanges. Overton is the last resident to hold out in the properties seized by Texas DOT. Unfortunately, she cannot afford to live in any of the surrounding properties, so she is left with no choice but to leave.

The 79-year-old grandmother of five expressed her disappointment with the situation. “I’m not opposed to moving, not at all, I see the traffic on I-20 every day, and I know something needs to be done, and I appreciate them wanting to do something; I just don’t appreciate how they did it to me,” Overton said.

With the help of an unnamed lawyer, who handled her case for free, Overton settled. The lawyer tried to get her more money, but the amount wouldn't be enough for her to buy a new place. “It’s not giving me a chance to find a location to try and buy what I feel to be comparable to what I got,” she said. “There’s no way I can buy a replacement home with what they gave me, no way.”

The move is especially difficult for her grand and great-grandchildren, who are wondering where they will spend holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Fourth of July. “I think it’s too much for them,” Overton said.

For the time being, Overton plans on staying at a friend’s house. She is sad to leave the home she's been in for 40 years, but she is resigned to the fact that it is the only option. She hopes that whatever the Texas Department of Transportation has planned for the I-20 expansion will help make the area safer for future generations.

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