[richardbrevig]

The US government does have the power to seize private property for the public's benefit, it's called Eminent Domain [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminent_domain

[mikeash]

One problem is that historically it somehow turned out that poorer, blacker people tended to be the ones in the way of big transportation projects. A lot of the backlash has roots in real abuses.