trying my hand at a development deal - I have some questions!

[Bruce Clark]

I currently hold some residential rental properties, but I have come up with a potential development idea.

In a small town near where I live, the state has released plans to construct a bridge crossing the Ohio River. It is scheduled be completed in 2020. The final plans for this bridge are complete and they call for it to come to a light in the middle of this small town (with no traffic lights currently). Traffic will then be required to turn left and travel through what is now a residential area for about a quarter of a mile and then get on a state highway. The traffic studies that have been completed call for an increase from 900 vehicles per day to 9,000 vehicles per day in this short stretch of residential area. 

The plans also call for the road in this residential area to be widened by 6 feet (which is the size of the current right of way). I know a couple of the homeowners who live at the intersection where this bridge is going to be constructed. They are not happy to say the least. They are losing what they perceived to be 6 feet of their lawn without any compensation (the state always had the right away but just never used it, so "legally" they aren't losing anything.) They are now going to live at the corner of an busy intersection, when they simply want to live on the quiet residential street that they lived on before.

My idea is to approach these homeowners and have them execute options to me. Then I want to attempt to market this larger block of land to commercial developers (there are no zoning problems). I see this as a potential win - win for everyone involved.

The problem is that I have never done a deal like this or anything similar. Is something like this even worth my time? If I get the options signed, what do I do next? How do I estimate what a developer would potentially pay for the property? etc.

Any advice, comments, suggestions are very much appreciated.