Madison County hears update on Yonder Road design, right-of-way and utility coordination
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Summary
Wagon Engineering told the Madison County board the Yonder Road project is about 45% complete in work progress, has billed roughly 23–24% of its contract, will affect 73 parcels and faces a delay in environmental review pending U.S. Army Corps of Engineers comments; staff outlined next steps for utility and right-of-way work.
Darren Warren, with Wagon Engineering, told the Madison County board that design and right-of-way work on the Yonder Road improvements (Smith Carr to North Oak Kent Road) is underway and that the firm has billed "about 23 or 24%" of its contract while reporting "around 45%" actual project progress.
Wagon Engineering was hired after the board approved the contract in November 2024 and a December amendment to begin right-of-way acquisition coordination, Warren said. He listed completed work including a right-of-way analysis and parcel impact study, and said the team has finished 60% preliminary design construction drawings.
The project team has initiated utility-provider coordination and is preparing to meet with utility companies to identify necessary relocations. Warren said environmental coordination with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slipped from an earlier target and that the firm submitted materials to the Corps in December; the team has not yet received comments and will follow up to secure approval for a nationwide permit.
Warren gave a specific scope for right-of-way work: "There are a total of 73 parcels that are being impacted," he said, and staff have started work with a right-of-way acquisition firm to prepare the necessary documents for property outreach and acquisition.
Board members pressed about whether utility relocations on an adjacent three-lane project would eliminate the need for future moves on the county's five-lane alignment. An unidentified speaker replied that the adjacent plans include cutting a ditch (about 20 feet) and adding curb and gutter, and that Entergy is buying right-of-way at the project end so the utility work may sit outside the county right-of-way and help complete the corridor without additional county relocations.
Warren said next steps include finalizing preliminary design, continuing environmental follow-up with the Corps, advancing right-of-way acquisition paperwork and meeting internally with Tim and with Neil Shaffer to coordinate limits between the adjacent three-lane project and the five-lane design.
No formal motions or votes were recorded during the update. The board thanked the presenters and moved on to the next agenda item.
