Pethel alone on Sam Bruce repairs

Pethel made a motion recently to seek bids for a concrete bridge and a steel bridge. County engineer Phil Munro recently estimated that installing a concrete bridge would cost $250,000, while installing a steel structure would cost around $180,000.

Commissioner sat silently Monday after Pethel made the motion. After the lengthy silence, chairman Anthony Dove declared the motion dead for lack of a second.

Pethel voiced his disappointment.

“The day this was settled, I was told we had the money to do it and we would move quickly to get it done,” said Pethel. “Six months is not very quick. When the people in Harrison hear about this, we may have to go ahead and make arrangements for the big courtroom.”

Madison County commissioners battled for three years with Harrison-area property owner Marion “Hoss” Cartwright on whether Sam Bruce Road should remain closed or whether the bridge on the road should be repaired.

A settlement on the 2007 suit between county commissioners and Cartwright was filed Nov. 2, 2010, in the office of the clerk of Superior Court of Madison County.

According to the settlement, Cartwright was paid $60,000 in exchange for dropping his suit. Meanwhile, Cartwright will no longer block county efforts to repair a washed out bridge and re-open the closed portion of Sam Bruce Road.

The $60,000 settlement set the total cost of the lawsuit to the county at $298,361.
Cartwright said he spent upwards of $150,000 on the lawsuit.