Diestelhorst

By this action in eminent domain the City of Redding, in order to cooperate with the state of California in the permanent routing of the Pacific highway through its corporate limits, sought to take for highway and bridge purposes, a portion of the lands of defendants. This tract of land lies immediately north of and adjacent to the city limits of Redding. The highway passes through Red-ding over Market Street to its intersection with Riverside Drive, which runs east and west and parallel with the Sacramento River. The lands of defendants lie between Riverside Drive on the south and the Sacramento River on the north. There is a precipitous drop of approximately sixty feet from Riverside Drive to the lowlands bordering the river. The new alignment of the Pacific highway crosses Riverside Drive and continues almost directly north crossing the lands of defendants by means of a fill and bridge.

A jury awarded to appellants the sum of $7,500, of which $6,000 was for the property taken, and $1500 as severance damages.

From the final judgment based upon this award, the owners prosecuted this appeal, claiming principally as ground for appeal that the court erred in striking out the…