PROSPECT (AP) – The former owners of a restaurant near an approach to the Waldo-Hancock Bridge on U.S. Route 1 said Monday they are suing the state, claiming a “wrongful taking” of the property along the busy coastal route.

The Sail Inn was closed by the state Transportation Department under eminent domain proceedings in 2003 stemming from the construction of a replacement bridge over the Penobscot River. The new bridge, which is under construction, connects Prospect to Verona Island.

The owners of the Sail Inn, Robert and Paul Dyer, challenged a state award of $225,000 for the restaurant and five-acre parcel, and the state Claims Commission in September announced a decision to award an additional $245,000, according to the Dyers.

Last week, the brothers filed a complaint in Waldo County Superior Court that claims the state had no need to take the restaurant in the first place. The complaint seeks unspecified damages.

A spokesman from the attorney general’s office, which represents the state in legal matters, did not immediately return a message Monday.