Norwich — The state Department of Transportation has announced plans for a permanent repair of the collapsed 17-foot high retaining wall on Route 12-North Main Street in Greeneville that involved the eminent domain seizure of an adjacent apartment house.

The field stone wall collapsed onto the lower yard of an apartment house at 665 North Main St. on June 15, leaving a large gap beneath an unsupported portion of sidewalk and roadway.

DOT crews immediately shifted traffic and closed a portion of the sidewalk and relocated the four tenants in the apartment house, located a few feet from the collapsed wall.

Truckloads of dirt and large concrete blocks were brought in to temporarily shore up the collapsed area, but the traffic lanes remain shifted with orange cones and caution tape still in place.

A dispute ensued between property owner Andrew Zeeman and DOT officials over the state's plan to acquire the property and the relocation of tenants.

Zeeman said the DOT made him what was termed a final offer in July of $160,000, but would not consider compensation for his recent refinancing of the property and for removal and storage of his belongings at the property.

Zeeman said he was the one who found new housing for three of the four tenants, and as soon as the final tenant moved out, the state took the house and one-third-acre property by eminent domain.

City land records show the state acquired the property July 23 for no purchase price.

The building will be demolished to accommodate the permanent repair, the DOT news release stated.

Zeeman said he plans to challenge the price offer in court.

DOT spokesman Kenneth Nursick said he could not comment on the property acquisition except to say that the process allows a property owner to challenge a price offer.

Nursick said acquiring the property was necessary for the project. He said DOT officials use eminent domain sparingly, but it is a necessity in situations like the Route 12 wall collapse.

“Correcting this issue wouldn't be possible without that power,” Nursick said. “We understand it's a sensitive issue. It also is a necessity for the state to build and improve that infrastructure.”

According to the agency's news release, a permanent repair extending about 400 feet beginning across from the Route 12 intersection with Central Avenue is being designed.

The plan calls for demolishing the house and building a 2:1 slope down from the roadway to support the retaining wall. Additional rights of way might need to be secured from adjacent properties, the news release stated.

Design work is expected to be completed next spring, with construction to start next fall. The agency is seeking public input on the plan, and agency officials may schedule a public informational meeting if there is sufficient interest.

State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, who contacted Zeeman when the collapse occurred, said she will be meeting with DOT officials on Nov. 6 to discuss several projects in Norwich, Columbia and Hebron and will include the Route 12 retaining wall in the discussion.

She said she would work with Zeeman to try to resolve his dispute.

For information about the Route 12-North Main Street repair, contact William Britnell, DOT principal engineer of highway design, at (860) 594-3274 or by email at William.Britnell@ct.gov. Refer to state project number 0103-0269.

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