Residents say Hay Hollow Road slide endangers residents, delays response; commissioners weigh options including eminent domain

Residents of Hay Hollow Road and nearby neighborhoods urged Maury County commissioners to reopen the road or fund repairs after a bank slide closed the road’s end more than three years ago.

Cheyenne Martin, a resident who said she lives on Hay Hollow Road, told the commission the end of the road ‘‘was closed off’’ after a storm left about ‘‘a foot and a half of the edge of the road’’ missing. ‘‘You literally can't see the edge of the road,’’ she said, and described repeated flooding and a history of emergency responses being delayed because vehicles must use a long detour around Leaper’s Creek.

Kathleen Connor said her husband was life‑flighted after a December 2023 emergency and that she had to remind 911 that the road was closed while emergency responders were en route. ‘‘They had to back up and come through Leaper's Creek, causing potential life‑threatening minutes,’’…