The Georgia Department of Transportation “DOT” brought an action to condemn property which is owned by Meadow Trace, Inc. at the intersection of Highway 129/State Road 11 “Highway 129″ and Interstate 985 “I-985″ in Hall County. The DOT and Meadow Trace filed cross-motions for partial summary judgment on the issue of whether the condemned property has a right of access to Highway 129, which affects the value of Meadow Trace’s property interest. The trial court found that the property does have a right of access to Highway 129 and therefore granted Meadow Trace’s motion and denied the DOT’s motion. The DOT appeals the trial court’s ruling, and for the reasons that follow, we affirm. Summary judgment is proper where no genuine issue of material fact exists and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.1 We apply a de novo standard of review to a trial court’s grant of summary judgment,2 and view the evidence in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion.3
Here, the issue of whether the condemned property has a right of access to Highway 129 turns on the interpretation of a deed, which originally granted a right of way from a tract owned by C. E. Barrett of which the condemned property was a part to the State Highway Department of Georgia, the DOT’s predecessor in interest. Barrett, Meadow Trace’s predecessor in interest, entered into a “RIGHT OF WAY DEED Limited Access” with the State Highway Department on June 2, 1966. The deed conveys a portion of Barrett’s property to the State Highway Department for a right of way for the Atlanta-Cornelia Road, also referred to as Project No. F-013-113 and the “limited access highway.” This road is now known as I-985. The deed provides: “said right of way hereby conveyed consisting of 38.146 acres, more or less, is shown in color on the plat of the property prepared by the State Highway Department, dated March 24, 1966 attached hereto and made a part of this description.” No plat was attached to the recorded deed; however, the referenced plat was filed on June 18, 1966, the same day the deed was filed. On the plat, the phrases “Req’d R/W & Limit of Access” and “Req’d R/W & L.A.” appear on the boundary between the land acquired by the State Highway Department and Barrett’s remaining property, but there is no legend explaining the meaning of these terms.
