Wagner

This is an appeal by unsuccessful plaintiffs in an action for inverse condemnation seeking damages for impairment of access by reason of freeway construction. In the first phase of a bifurcated trial, the court held that access to plaintiffs’ properties had not been impaired in a fashion which is compensable. In this appeal from the resulting judgment for defendant State of California, plaintiffs contend: (1) a trial court’s finding that freeway construction did not substantially impair access from plaintiffs’ properties to the public streets is not supported by substantial evidence; (2) the trial court erred in excluding evidence of the value of plaintiffs’ properties before and after the commencement of freeway construction; and (3) the trial court erroneously treated the issue of substantial interference with access to plaintiffs’ properties as one of fact to be decided by the judge. Concluding that plaintiffs’ contentions lack merit on the record before us, we affirm the judgment.

In 1965, plaintiffs constructed a 20-unit apartment building on their property at 404 North Garfield in the City of Pasadena, and a 53-unit apartment building on their property at 445 North…