HOMEOWNERS have claimed they've been trapped in their driveway by an elementary school's road expansion, leading city leaders to try and come up with a solution.
Terry and Claira Conyers first moved into their house in Hamilton, Montana, in the picturesque Bitterroot Valley about 50 miles south of Missoula, in 2006.
For 13 years, they had no issues with their academic neighbor.
But in 2019, Daly Elementary School was trying to expand its pick-up and drop-off zone but somehow missed the Conyers' driveway in the process.
They felt like the city and the school let them down after overlooking their property when the school installed a new curb along the zone - right in front of one of their garages.
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Terry was particularly upset because his prized hot rod pickup is now blocked in by the curb, which rises nearly to the height of the car's front bumper, making it impossible to leave.
He owns a custom blue 1957 GMC 100, souped up with a blue bumper to match and bright blue flame detailing on the hood.
When Claira went to the school superintendent with the issue, he admitted to a mistake.
"He said he didn't realize that this was going to be as tall as it is," she told local NBC affiliate KECI.
"And that’s when I explained to him that it was not only us that he was cutting off."
When construction started, crews told the Conyers they were just widening the road.
It was only after the crews had finished and the last workers had left that the Conyers discovered what had happened.
The curb construction caused the obvious problem of being unable to leave the driveway, but there may be more issues to come.
"Probably the drainage," Claira Conyers stated.
"As-is now with the snow coming on where are they going to put it, it’s going to come down right into the garage."
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Hamilton Mayor Dominic Farrenkopf said he is working with the city as well as schools superintendent Tom Korst to find solutions.
