Black Shiloh Community Property Owners Sue Alabama DOT Over Constant Highway Flooding

The road to justice for Black flood victims in Elba, Alabama’s Shiloh community may run through Montgomery, the state capital.  On Tuesday, the Birmingham law firm Wiggins Childs Pantazis Fisher & Goldfarb LLC filed a lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) on behalf of a group of Shiloh residents seeking damages  from the US 84 Highway expansion project that has flooded homes, businesses and properties since the road was widened and elevated beginning in 2017, despite residents raising concerns about flooding as early as 2018, while the highway was still under construction.  The residents are suing ALDOT for depriving them of their constitutional right as the constant flooding from the highway continues to worsen and take more of their property as time proceeds. ALDOT has even used restrictive deed covenants against several Shiloh property owners to ward off flooding claims and lawsuits and limit the ability of current and future residents to file actions against the state related to US 84 highway flooding.  

Residents in the lawsuit have suffered flooding events for seven years and “the incursions have risen to the level where they constitute a taking without just compensation in violation of the takings claims of the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which prohibits the taking of private property for public use by a government entity,” according to the complaint. The flooding also constitutes a takings because it impairs the use and enjoyment of the plaintiffs’ properties in that their homes, businesses and on their grounds and each flood event lowers the value of their properties. The flooded residents have lost confidence in ALDOT to respond to their needs.  “We’ve tried to work with ALDOT and the Federal Highway Administration to get relief and compensation for the damages to our homes, businesses, and properties. Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. We have no choice but to pursue this lawsuit to get back what is legally ours that has been illegally taken,” states Pastor Timothy Williams, Shiloh community home and business owner and lead plaintiff on the lawsuit.  

The Shiloh residents are demanding damages to compensate them for the loss of use and enjoyment of their properties, the determination of the values of the properties, as well as damages for mental anguish of having their properties constantly flooded.  Before 2017, US Highway 84 was a two-lane road at an elevation consistent with the surrounding topography.  In 2017, with funding in part from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), ALDOT took a simple dirt road that ran through Shiloh and expanded US 84 highway from two lanes to four lanes and elevated the road 10-15 feet above the community—creating a myriad of problems by placing residents’ homes, businesses and properties in a flood-prone bowl.  The highway drainage system pipes were pointed toward Shiloh—driving stormwater downhill flooding the entire community.  The Shiloh highway flooding story is well documented in the award-winning ABC News investigative report that detailed the role ALDOT played in damaging the community and property owners.  In April 2024, federal transportation officials toured the Shiloh community, saw the damage caused by the highway flooding and publicly stated ALDOT “should do more” to address the problem.  However, Secretary Pete Buttigieg and the Biden administration failed to hold the state accountable for the damages caused by years of flooding by a highway project in which federal transportation dollars helped build.    

Shiloh becomes a lake during rain events—resulting in flooded homes and businesses, driveways, sinking foundations, overflowing septic systems and causing sewage backups in homes. Moisture in attics from leaky roofs is causing mold to grow that’s making homeowners sick.  The constant flooding of the land in Shiloh has caused subsidence contributing to major structural damage to buildings with foundations sinking into the red clay. Sadly, flood-related homeowner claims are being denied by insurance companies. Some residents are losing their homeowners’ insurance, altogether.  

Flooding in Shiloh is a man-made disaster caused by ALDOT. The community didn’t flood before the highway expansion and homeowners were not insured against flood hazards. Shiloh home and property owners are left with mounting bills from the flooding. These extra flood-related costs are especially burdensome for elderly and low-income families living on fixed incomes, including U.S. military veterans who served their country.    

On October 4, 2024, the Biden administration USDOT was able to secure a binding Voluntary Resolution Agreement (VRA) with ALDOT to fix the highway it built that caused the flooding. The VRA failed to hold ALDOT accountable for flood damages to Shiloh homes, properties and businesses—all caused by a flawed highway project. Black Shiloh property owners are left with flooded and damaged homes, businesses and depreciated property values and in debt. ALDOT was required to submit a 160-day progress report to FHWA on implementing the VRA.  The first progress report was submitted around April 3, 2025, indicating little or nothing had been done to implement the mitigation plan to stop the highway flooding that continues to damage Shiloh community residents’ property, a complete breach of the VRA.  

If you would like to contribute to the Dr. Robert D. Bullard GoFundMe Shiloh Flood Fund, click HERE.

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