Construction trucks that have routinely rolled through the Lake of the Woods subdivision during the past several months were halted Tuesday when Boone County commissioners voted to close Teton Drive and block access to the Eastport Village construction site.
Commissioners voted 3-0 to close the road Tuesday.
Jack Donelon, president of the Lake of the Woods Neighborhood Association, recommended temporarily closing Teton Drive after residents expressed concern about excessive use by construction vehicles. Construction vehicles access the Lake of the Woods entrance and exit through North Grace Lane and Teton Drive, where construction of 63 single-family homes and 70 duplexes is under way.
The city annexed the area for the subdivision in May 2003, making the Lake of the Woods subdivision an “island” maintained by the county surrounded by city-maintained property.
Boone County Northern District Commissioner Skip Elkin listed problems that had been discussed with the association and the sheriff’s department — debris on the roads, mud, heavy equipment and speeding were noted as serious concerns for residents.
After the meeting, concrete barriers were installed to block the road until permanent jersey barriers are ready. In six months, the commissioners will re-evaluate the situation.
“We have investigated the issue of closing Teton Drive in the past, but it would impair current construction in the area,” Elkin said. “Up until recently, the developers hadn’t had another access to the construction site. Now, they have another entrance, so the developers should have no need to cut through the neighborhood.”
Ed Calvert, Emery Sapp & Sons project manager for the construction site, said he didn’t think the closure would affect the construction’s progress.
“I bought the house because it was on a quiet street, and it upset me that they were having trucks going in and out,” said William Lewis, who lives on Teton Drive.
Lewis is glad that this issue has been dealt with but is concerned about other problems, like street quality, that the construction trucks left behind. The county maintains Teton Drive, and Elkin said it is committed to providing for the streets. For 2004, Elkin said $35,000 has been allotted to maintain the streets in the subdivision.
“We do have some money programs in the 2004 budget for the subdivision’s streets,” Elkin said. “Some of the streets in that area were pretty broken up even before construction. We will start on the worse sections and go from there.”