Hall County commissioners on Jan. 9 approved a conditional change tied to a proposed 100-lot subdivision at 5991 Swansea Road that splits responsibility for paving and improvements between the developer and the county.

The board voted to require the developer to fund and initiate construction of the segment nearest Blackjack Road (the “blue” section shown in county materials) at the time the developer obtains a land-disturbance permit. County staff will perform a lower-standard maintenance paving on the remaining portion toward Friendship Road (the “purple” section) and will seek budget funding to upgrade to full AASHTO design standards when feasible.

Why it matters: Residents who live on Swansea Road have for years raised safety and dust concerns tied to the dirt conditions and increasing cut-through traffic. Commissioners and staff framed the compromise as a way to get at least part of the road up to long-term standards while ensuring nearer-term relief for residents.

County Public Works Director Bill Nash summarized the engineering trade-offs and cost estimates in a presentation to the board: “This is the development project being proposed, but this right here represents a 0.8 mile realignment of road project … It does, require realignment of the section that’s adjacent to Vulcan. And this did have an estimated cost of $5,600,000 as a capital project to do that project, for the county,” Nash said. He told the board the realignment’s most expensive portion—the curve near the quarry—drives the bulk of that estimate.

Developer Michael Cooper told the board the applicant had offered a $650,000 capital contribution toward Swansea Road improvements in revised draft conditions; Cooper said that contribution could be applied to the blue section and that, if phase 1 construction was not imminent by April 30, 2026, the developer would perform a temporary pavement (a maintenance topping) for the other portion to reduce dust and mud for residents. “The proposed condition … refers to the ability for the developer to make a contribution of $650,000 to the improvement of Swansea Road up to AASHTO standards,” Cooper said.

Neighbors at the hearing pushed for more county-funded work. Susan McCullough, who lives near the proposed subdivision entrance, told commissioners: “You’re talking about 200 more cars on this road, if not more.” Several neighbors testified the road is muddy, dusty and used as a cut-through to a nearby park.

County staff provided three options during the hearing: full realignment to AASHTO standards (the $5.6 million option), a maintenance overlay of the existing alignment (an estimated $525,000 maintenance option presented as lower-standard work), or no change. Nash said the blue section could be brought to AASHTO standards without additional right-of-way acquisition and estimated that work (including a 30% contingency) at roughly $1,000,000; the developer and staff agreed the developer’s contribution could be applied to that portion at land-disturbance permit (LDP) and that the county would work to include the purple section in the next fiscal budget for design and construction.

The final board motion, as clarified on the record, requires the developer to fund the blue section and to be authorized to start that construction at the LDP stage; the county will plan and pursue funding to perform the maintenance-standard work on the purple section and, if budget allows, upgrade that work to full AASHTO design standards later. The board recorded the motion as passed.

What the motion requires: the developer’s financial contribution (the parties discussed $650,000) will be used toward the AASHTO-standard blue segment and the developer may be allowed to initiate the blue-section work when it secures its land-disturbance permit. If the county cannot commit to full AASHTO improvements on the purple portion in time, the developer agreed in discussion to self-perform a maintenance topping over that section by April 30, 2026, so that construction traffic does not leave the road in a worse condition for neighbors.

Details and numbers surfaced during the hearing: county staff estimated a full realignment near the quarry could cost $3.5–$4.0 million for the most difficult curve segment and about $5.6 million for the entire two-phase project; the blue segment alone was presented as roughly $1,000,000 including contingencies; a lower-standard maintenance overlay option for the entire length was estimated at about $525,000.

Residents’ concerns and next steps: commissioners said they want the county to budget for the purple maintenance portion in the next fiscal cycle and staff said they would prepare designs and a recommended funding plan. The developer asked for the county to authorize initiation of the blue-section construction with the LDP and to allow the developer’s contribution to be applied toward that segment. The board’s motion sets those expectations while leaving detailed contract and delivery language for staff and legal review.

Quotes in this article come from the public hearing record and from presentations by county staff and the applicant. The board’s final action amended the subdivision’s conditions of zoning and included the new roadway funding/delivery language.