Meriwether County commissioners approve partial closure of Cane Creek Road after public hearing

Meriwether County commissioners voted May 5 to close Cane Creek Road from Highway 85 to Cane Creek after a public hearing on case P25-002. The motion, made by a commissioner representing the district where the road lies and seconded by another commissioner, passed after staff said the bridge had been condemned and repairs would be costly.

The request was presented by Roger Lumsden, the applicant and property owner, who told the board he bought land across the creek and had sought closure because the condemned bridge and an existing gate made the road unusable for public traffic. Cassandra, a county planning staffer, told the board that the Georgia Department of Transportation had condemned the bridge and that the road already had a gate and had not been maintained for years. She advised the board that the county had not found a public hearing record showing an official closure previously.

Commissioners discussed whether the board could close more than the advertised segment during that meeting; planning staff and the county attorney indicated legal procedure limits action to the advertised portion and that a separate public hearing would be needed to close any additional segments. No members of the public spoke in opposition during the hearing. The board approved the advertised closure from Highway 85 to Cane Creek; commissioners said they would advertise and schedule any future hearings needed to consider further closures.

The formal action recorded was to close Cane Creek Road from Highway 85 to Cane Creek (case P25-002). The board did not provide a line-item vote breakdown in the meeting minutes beyond the motion passing. Staff noted the closure was driven by the bridge condemnation and the financial impracticality of repairing the structure to reopen the road for public use.