Geneva County resists ALDOT addition of old SR 52 stretch; limits acceptance to original agreement

Geneva County commissioners on April 13 debated a late ALDOT agreement that would transfer an added stretch of old State Route 52 (Old Hartford Highway) from MP 56.15 through Malvern to the Houston County line.

Engineer Justin Barfield told the commission the segment was abandoned in 2009 when the new four-lane highway opened and that the stretch lies in or near Malvern and connects to Malvern roads; he said Houston County does not maintain the portion that continues into their county and the City of Taylor maintains the portion beyond that. "Why would Geneva County accept this when it is in Malvern and connects to a Malvern Road...the County would have no interest in accepting that stretch of road," Barfield said.

Commissioner Weston Spivey urged the commission not to accept responsibility for the additional stretch, citing potential resurfacing costs estimated by commissioners at more than $275,000 and the engineer's estimate between $300,000 and $400,000. Spivey moved to reject the new stretch, but that motion failed for lack of a second. Commissioner Jeff Hatcher then moved to accept the original agreement while explicitly excluding the newly proposed addition; the motion authorized Chairman Toby Seay to sign the original agreement after review by County Attorney Phil Eldridge. The motion passed 2-0 with Commissioner Spivey recorded as abstaining.

Attorney Eldridge noted the agreement had been circulated late the previous week and that ALDOT had contacted the commission office asking for immediate consideration. The engineer also advised that funds in the prior program would be earmarked and that construction costs under the Federal Aid-type program would require the county to pay upfront and seek reimbursement.

Next steps: County Attorney Eldridge will review the ALDOT paperwork and finalize documents for Chairman Seay to sign excluding the Malvern stretch, as directed by the commission. The issue remains subject to ALDOT's response and final legal review.

Context and effect: Accepting the added stretch would have transferred maintenance responsibility and likely introduced multi-hundred-thousand-dollar resurfacing liability for a route that county staff says is not functionally part of Geneva County's network. The commission's action limits county exposure to the original transfer ALDOT initially proposed.