For most neighborhoods, the issue of where the road lies and where it should be is not something people think about.

For some Lawrence Township residents, it is.

The Lawrence County Commission late last week approved a resolution that confirmed the county engineer's decision on where Township Road 248 --

Ice Creek-Myrtle Church Road -- should be.

County Engineer David Lynd's office surveyed the road after some residents requested to have it blacktopped and others protested that over the years the road had been shifted 20 feet in one direction and that the road in its current location is not where it should be.

Keith Dickess, who owns land along Township Road 248, said if the road is blacktopped in its current location and not put back where it used to be, it will cut off access to his

property in some locations, and cut off access to his neighbor's home in other places.

"When they surveyed the road, they just shot a line down the center of the road. They didn't set up on any permanent markers," Dickess said. "I want the road blacktopped, but I want it put where it should be. I don't think they looked at it properly."

Merrill Humphreys agreed. He owns land on the other side of the road from Dickess.

"If you widen the road, you'll be on either one of us," he said.

"I just want the road widened so is can be maintained," resident Janice Jameson said. "Right now the road is only nine feet in some places."

Resident Gary Nance said many people who have lived along the road are aware that over the years the road has moved, probably by accident. He said he understands the plight of his neighbors, and would like to see the matter settled and the road paved.

"If it was my property, I'd do the same thing," Nance said. "I think another firm can be brought in to survey it, someone who doesn't know anybody and will do the right thing."

County Commissioners told the residents if they did have the option of seeking redress through the court system if they could not accept the County Engineer's ruling. Teresa Moore/The Ironton Tribune