Residents, road staff weigh closure, turnaround or guardrails for steep stretch of Maori Road

Bradley County road staff and residents discussed several options Wednesday to address a steep, hazardous section of Maori Road, including building an 80-foot turnaround on donated land, installing custom guardrail, or closing the lane and gating it for emergency access.

Road department staff member Josh Booker told the committee that he and Road Superintendent Tom Collins “went out there, and it's so steep out there that, we worry there's gonna be problems for doing the turnaround. We need 80 foot to do a a safe turnaround for everybody,” and that the necessary right-of-way and slope would require “a huge retaining wall” in some locations.

The discussion focused on three options: (1) securing and surveying a small parcel in front of a private property to build a turnaround, (2) widening and building engineered shoulder using specialty soil-anchoring work and then installing guardrail, or (3) closing the road and installing a gate while retaining emergency access by key. Booker and Tom Collins said guardrail would require longer-than-standard posts and could trigger slope instability where posts disturb a steep embankment; Collins warned guardrail “can be a hazard within itself.”

Multiple residents called for closure. John Gersh, who lives on Maori Road, said closing the lane would improve safety and reduce the risk of head-on encounters for emergency vehicles; Jody Grama and other neighbors described multiple collisions and near-misses. Resident Marie Indovino said a prior county inspection concluded that “because of the drop, it was an engineering issue, and they don't do that,” and that earlier staff had judged guardrails infeasible. Several residents supported a closure with a turnaround and gated emergency access; others urged additional signage and law-enforcement enforcement if the road remains open.

Road staff outlined next steps rather than taking formal action at the meeting. Bentley Thomas from the planning office explained that abandoning the right of way requires a petition and a survey submitted to the planning commission; if property owners seek permanent abandonment, the petition and survey would typically be prepared by the petitioners and presented to planning for a recommendation to the county commission. If the county instead elects to close the lane but retain county ownership, staff said a gated closure is an option that would not require petition and abandonment paperwork.

Collins said staff will pursue engineering options and contact a contractor who evaluates slides and embankment stabilization to provide ballpark costs for building shoulder and retaining elements. Staff said survey costs and any petition-driven survey would generally be the petitioners' responsibility. Road staff also noted that utility and emergency-access considerations mean the county would favor a closure method that preserves access for utility and emergency vehicles (for example, a locked gate with key access for service providers).

No formal motion to close or abandon the road was made at the committee meeting; staff said they will gather engineering estimates, confirm landowner willingness to donate required right-of-way for a turnaround if that is the chosen option, and return with cost estimates and timelines to follow up.

Residents and staff asked that the county keep the neighborhood informed as engineering and survey work proceed.