Bradley County road committee backs private‑road referral for Ashland Meadows, approves Carolina Lane intake and discusses equipment sales, bridges and paving

The Bradley County Road Committee on an operational agenda item voted to recommend that the short extension at the end of Ashland Meadows Drive be treated as a private road and sent to the county planning commission for formal review, and later approved adding Carolina Lane to the county's 2025 road list.

The decisions came during a broader update from the county road superintendent on equipment, bridges and pavement funding. The committee discussed placing two large excavators on a surplus auction, updated trustees on two bridge projects that remain unfunded, and warned that rising asphalt prices and limited local paving funds have stretched the county's repaving cycle to decades.

The Ashland Meadows item: why it matters

Tom, Road Superintendent, told the committee that surveyor Jim Richmond is working for a landowner, identified as Mr. Bowers, who wants to split some acreage and install a short private driveway off the paved end of Ashland Meadows Drive. Tom said the county's right-of-way measurement does not match the built pavement and that the paved portion is narrower than private-road standards call for. The road superintendent recommended a referral to the planning commission rather than immediate county acceptance.

"I think a private road might be our best bet," Tom said, adding that the paved width is roughly 14 feet rather than the 20-foot gravel base the private-road standard calls for. Tom also told committee members the portion in question likely would require only "maybe a load of rock" to meet standards and that the proposed private road would be limited to three lots now and no more than six under county rules.

The committee moved and approved a recommendation to the planning commission to treat the short extension as a private road and to consider any needed variance on width; the action was a recommendation only, not final county acceptance.

Carolina Lane: county accepts road into 2025 list

Later in the meeting the committee reviewed the draft 2025 county road list and voted to add Carolina Lane to the list for county acceptance. Josh (staff) and other county staff…