Carter Budget Committee seeks road repair funds from Helene recovery bond issue

ELIZABETHTON — The Budget Committee of the Carter County Commission will recommend that the county send $1.5 million on resurfacing and repairing six county roads over the next couple of months. The roads are mostly in the Simerly Creek section of the county. The roads include Verl Street Road, Tolleytown Road, Fiddler's Branch Road, Carver Road, Falls Road and Whttemore Road. There is also a recommendation to make repairs to Little Mountain Church Road in Roan Mountain. Karen Stevens, administrative assistant in the Carter County Highway Department, briefed the Budget Committee on the need for getting the repairs done before the ending of the paving season this fall. The roads were part of the area checked by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for damage caused by Hurricane Helene. The initial examination found no problems, but she said there was subsequent erosion to the roads and also heavy traffic forced onto the narrow lanes that the roads had not been built to handle. She said there were also many trips over the roads made by large dump trucks hauling debris from other areas damaged by Helene. The result is that the roads have suffered extensive wear and tear over the past two years. Stevens told the committee that some of the roads will not stand the upcoming winter if repairs are not made now. Mayor Patty Woodby agreed with Stevens. She told the Budget Committee "the roads are in bad shape. They have got to be addressed." The committee voted unanimously to recommend the expenditure to the County Commission at its next meeting on Sept. 21. Because the roads were not directly damaged in the storm, the county cannot expect FEMA funding to repair the roads. The motion approved on Monday night specifies the county use $1.5 million of the $40 million bond issue for Helene repairs and renovations. Woodby said the county has also just received a $165,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation to be used for consultants to study the deteriorating county mountain roads and develop plans for improving them. The committee also approved a budget amendment to complete the repairs and renovation of the U.S. Forest Service road to the White Rocks Mountain tower site. The committee will recommend to the commission that $602,877.81 of the county's remaining American Rescue Plan funds be used for the road project that will be needed to bring antenna and radio equipment to the site. ARP funds must be spent by Dec. 31. The committee also will recommend that $252,923 in county fund balance money be used on the road project if needed. The White Rocks Mountain antenna is the final piece of the countywide emergency communications network that will eliminate all shadows and dead spots in receiving radio signals.