With only an $8 million bond recently issued and approved by the Madison County Board of Supervisors to repair 14 county roads, some roads in desperate need of improvement — like Weisenberger and Yandell — won’t get those funds.
After finding no protest of the bond, issued in June, District 3 Supervisor Gerald Steen made a motion to assign five roads as the priorities for the $8 million in an August board meeting.
“Moving forward with the $8 million bond, I would like to put forward the roads that the $8 million will cover: Harvey Crossing, North Deerfield Drive, Virlillia Road, Tisdale Road and Robinson Springs Road. I would like to put that in the form of a motion for the $8 million to cover those roads.”
The original list of roads on the finalized bond resolution are Cherry Hill Road ($350,000), Robinson Springs Road ($2.5 million), Virlillia Road ($2.282 million), Tisdale Road ($1.2 million), Park Place Boulevard ($250,000), Greens Crossing ($350,000), Stokes Road Bridge ($375,000), Weisenburger Road, Yandell Road, Reunion phase 2, Reunion phase 3 ($8 million split with federal funds), Harvey Crossing ($600,000), Meadowgreen Lane and North Deerfield Drive ($700,000), and Sunnybrook Road ($700,000).
No amounts were known for Weisenberger Road, Yandell Road and Reunion phase 2.
All 14 roads that need improvement will cost more than $17,307,000, and are a compilation of the most need-based roads in each supervisor’s district.
Because the county took out the $8 million as a bond, officials will not need to split the funds with a city for road improvements.
The resolution specifically states that the $8 million bond cannot be used for other purposes besides fixing the roads throughout the county.
“I want everyone to understand there’s a lot more money on these roads than $8 million,” Steen said in a June board meeting. “So some of these roads may not see a dime.”
In the August meeting, Steen said the five roads he prioritized add up to approximately $7.3 million.
“This will make sure that the money is set aside to make sure these roads are reconstructed and repaired, to move forward before we spend it on some of these other roads that are out there.”
District 1 Supervisor Sheila Jones fired back at Steen’s motion to prioritize the five roads, saying there are many other roads listed on the $8 million bond resolution that need to be repaired first.
“I think we ought to take the roads in an order in which they are ready to go,” she said. “I need Weisenberger on (that list). Yandell needs a lot of work… Weisenberger floods when we have a big rain, and no one can get across it, including emergency vehicles.”
Jones told the board she thinks Steen’s list is meant to punish certain supervisors.
“I don’t want to be a part of that. I think we should take the roads as they’re ready to go.”
Currently, county engineer Dan Gaillet is in the process of working with Mendrop Engineering, as the company studies Weisenberger to find out why it’s flooding.
“That particular area’s been a problem for years, but it does flood severely if there’s any significant amount of rainfall, and it does inhibit the flow of emergency vehicles to and from the interstate to the Gluckstadt (and Highway) 51 area,” Sheriff Randy Tucker said.
Gaillet said only a couple of the five roads Steen prioritized are actually “ready to go.”
“As far as ready to go, Tisdale is probably top of the list… Robinson Springs, those plans are done… Out of the five, two are ready to be advertised very quickly… We’re just weeks away from getting those out for bid and moving forward. The others, we still have some engineering work we have to do.”
Gaillet said the county is just getting into the Weisenberger study, and the public works department will move to the next step as soon as recommendations are received.
“I’m willing to work together as a board, but I’m not willing to put people and emergency situations at risk so that we have a nice little tight list of who’s getting money first, especially after hearing that plans aren’t ready yet,” Jones said. “Let’s take them in the order that they become ready… I’m tired of politics.”
Steen said the concern lay with the total cost estimate of the five roads, which is approximately $7.3 million.
“I’m arguing for any road (ready to go). But (Weisenberger Road) is in a horrible situation, a dangerous situation,” Jones said.
Minor Norman, county emergency management director, also spoke to the conditions of Weisenberger: “Seeing that road, it is bad for the fire department out there.”
However, Steen said he thinks all roads are in equally bad shape throughout the county.
“We have three districts that have to drive (Weisenberger) every day and school buses, we have a school out there,” District 2 Supervisor Trey Baxter, board president, said. “It should at least be done when it’s ready to be built… To say it’s number six and we have to wait on potholes to be repaired… There is no comparison between a pothole and a flooded road with a school bus of children, deputies or a fire truck. There’s no comparison.”
Steen asked Jones what roads she wanted to remove from his list.
“I don’t want to take any off. I want to build the roads in the order that they’re ready to go,” she said.
District 5 Supervisor Paul Griffin seconded Steen’s motion to prioritize Harvey Crossing, North Deerfield Drive, Virlillia Road, Tisdale Road and Robinson Springs Road with the $8 million bond. The motion passed 3-2, with Baxter and Jones opposing.
