Cracks in the road: Neighbors divided on widening, repaving project in Carroll
By Carrie Ann Knauer, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, May 12, 2007
ALESIA — When the county first told Falls Road residents it was planning to pave a gravel section of the road with blacktop, many were excited by the news that the dust and washouts would be a thing of the past.
But when the county announced at a public information meeting last month that the road will be enlarged to accommodate two lanes of traffic, some of the residents changed their minds.
Residents told county officials they didn’t want to lose property for the new road or invite speeding traffic, and some said they no longer wanted the project to go through. J.R. Steger, a resident living at the corner of Hoffmanville and Falls roads, said he thinks his neighbors were naïve to think the county would put in a one-lane road with the pavement. He’s put a sign in his yard stating his position.
“If you don’t want a new road, eat the dust,” Steger read from his sign Friday. Falls Road at Hoffmanville Road is paved, but the work was done more than 25 years ago and has had little upkeep since then, said Earl Marders, who lives across the street. When he bought his lot 25 years ago, he made sure to build his fence about 10 feet back from the road so that it would be ready for the new pavement, which had been talked about even then, he said.
A few driveways north of Hoffmanville Road, the street changes to gravel as it gets curvier and hillier, making it a little dangerous when there is oncoming traffic, said Michele Gribben, a resident in the 3900 block of Falls Road. “My husband and I would very much like to have it paved,” Gribben said. “And if it gets paved it will get widened.” Dale Lusher, another resident in the 3900 block of Falls Road, said he never heard about the informational meeting and was angry when he heard he’d lose land for the road widening.
“We’re dead set against it,” Lusher said. “We’re in the gravel part and who cares? It keeps the traffic slow. I don’t want to lose 11 feet [of my property].” Lusher, who said he has owned the property for 15 years, said he liked having the house far back from the road — and the country feel of the area. “I don’t want a Harford Road type of situation,” Lusher said.
Mike Evans, county director of public works, said the road is still in the engineering phase. Contractors were out at the road Friday taking soil samples, which will help the engineers understand the stability and drainage of the area, he said. The county is focusing on the Falls Road portion between Hoffmanville and Roller roads, Evans said, and will address the last, northern stretch of Falls Road, about another mile, at another time. This northern section of road is already wide enough for two cars to pass, Evans said, so the road will not be changed much when the paving is done. The county also plans to pave Turkeyfoot Road this year, he said. Residents shouldn’t worry about Falls Road growing too big, Evans said. It is being engineered to preserve the character of the road, he said, but also to correct some of the drainage issues and make it wide enough for two cars to pass at the same time.
“I think there’s generally a lot of support for this type of project,” Evans said.
Chuck Ingram, civil engineering manager with the county bureau of engineering, said the Falls Road project is for 0.46 miles of pavement and is budgeted for $600,000. The engineering design, being prepared by A. Morton Thomas Inc., should be finished by the fall, Ingram said, and put out to bid over the winter with construction starting next spring. Marders said the project makes sense for both the county and the residents. “They’re out here with graders all the time,” Marders said. “Why keep putting money into something that can be fixed in one time?” |
