Despite a multi-million dollar bond issue for road repairs in 2019, many roads in Madison County still lay in disrepair.
One road in particular has bothered residents for years and was even part of a petition by “Gluckstadt Residents against Rezone,” who were opposed to “any additional development in the area along Stribling Road and Dewees Road” due to the condition of the roads.
The petition cited the condition of Dewees, Stribling and Gluckstadt roads and stated that “additional traffic created by development will exacerbate the problem.”
Recently, Madison County resident Brent Chenhall reached out to the Sun about the condition of Dewees Road in particular.
“The road has been torn up for over eight years and continues to get worse,” Chenhall said. “A portion of the road washed out and was dug out months ago with rocks filled in and has not been touched since. The road department will fix it every now and then but not to the extent it needs to be.”
Driving down Dewees Road, motorists can see spot repairs have been made in several areas along the road in an attempt to fix problem areas. During discussion of the $5.7 million bond in 2019 by the Madison County board of supervisors, a portion of those funds was considered to repave the road.
However, when the list of roads receiving bond funds for repairs was finalized, Dewees Road was not included.
“Dewees Road was not included in the final version of the 2019 $5.7 million bond,” said County Engineer Tim Bryan.
Bryan added that the board of supervisors later approved funds for the project, but no funding source was identified at that time.
“The board did approve $200,000 to go toward Dewees, but there was no funding source attached to that approval and, to my knowledge, no money is currently available,” Bryan said.
So, for now, it is unclear if or when repairs will be made to Dewees Road, which connects Stribling Road and Gluckstadt Road.
“The county supervisors continue to drag their feet and prioritize other projects,” Chenhall said. “The trees are overgrown. (There are) potholes. (The road) is not wide enough and now a huge hazard.”
Graham Wells, a realtor with J.D. Johnson Realty and Investment, previously told the Sun that the roads in that area, particularly due to their size, result in backed up traffic.
“People want it to be a four-lane eventually, but the county would have to expand the rights of way, there are utilities in the way. Dewees was just a dirt road until five or 10 years ago,” Wells said.
