First of all fact and cliche are not mutually exclusive.
The cliche is born when the unimaginative (like you) insist upon trotting out the same fact ad nauseum irrespective of context.
The man cannot use his driveway due govt road works. Rather than acknowledging the real issue , you seem obsessed about how he came to "own" the property -- not because you are concerned for the person in the story, but simply because it suits your own dull agenda.