Residents oppose closing old Hwy. 8
A move to close trash-lined section of county road, known as old Highway 8, instituted last year by Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Jimmy Jones, was shot down when two area landowners came forward and expressed their opposition at a recent Highway and Bridge Committee meeting.
In an article published in the Southern Standard in October of last year, Jones urged the county to close the 1.9-mile stretch of highway due to the illegal dumping and drug activity taking place there. The plan at first seemed to have the support of area property owners. In fact, the Highway and Bridge Committee, after publishing the requisite legal notice in the Standard, had actually voted to present the idea to the full Warren County Commission for its approval.
However, Dwight O’Neal, who owns property along the road and his wife, Hannah, along with fellow landowners Mason and Lena Smith, attended a meeting last week of Highway and Bridge Committee to voice their disapproval.
The O’Neals main objection was that closing the road, and subsequently taking it off the county maps, thus relieving the county road department of any responsibility for its maintenance, would have adverse effects on the property values, and could potentially result in some major expense to landowners should they decide to develop the land.
Both the Smiths and O’Neals said they had not seen the legal notices in the Standard, just the original article, and were unaware the plan was moving forward.
The original plan was to install gates with locks at both ends of the road, and then provide landowners with keys. Officials felt this would greatly cut down, if not eliminate, the illegal dumping taking place along the road.
Both the O’Neals and the Smiths agreed something needed to be done about the illegal dumping, but felt closing the road was not in their best interests, and therefore not the best solution.
Committee members held a vote to table the move which passed unanimously.