Bethany Road work worries residents.

Courtesy Jonathan Copsey; The Milton Herald

November 04, 2013

MILTON, Ga. – Anyone traveling on Bethany Road in the past few weeks may have noticed some construction, in the form of road resurfacing. Residents on Bethany claim they were never told such heavy construction was happening.

Construction began in mid-October and is to resurface Bethany from Providence Road down to Mayfield Road. It is scheduled to be finished Nov. 15.

"Bethany is a full-depth reclamation project," said Milton Public Works Director Carter Lucas.

Residents along Bethany were concerned and surprised when construction began. They say colored flags began popping up on their lawns without explanation, leading to concerns the road would be significantly widened.

Debbie Mooney, who has lived on Bethany Road for 19 years, said it was a surprise when construction began.

"It's a frustrating situation. We're right on the line of Alpharetta and Milton," Mooney said. "I'm not aware of anything going on until it happens."

Specifically, she noted the new developments going in south of Mayfield Road, which is in Alpharetta. Because Mooney lives in Milton, she said there is little cross-city communication when it comes to zoning and projects.

"If a rezoning notice appeared on Ruth's Farm [at Mayfield and Bethany roads], we would have attended those meetings," Mooney said. "We weren't given any notice there was going to be anything there."

Alpharetta Deputy City Administrator James Drinkard said there was no zoning hearing on Ruth's Farm because the property was already zoned for such a use.

Lucas said Bethany Road will only be slightly widened – 1-2 feet on each side, and is still within the city's right-of-way.

"For these projects, we do add additional lane width to bring the roads up closer to current lane width standards to help with public safety and edge of pavement issues," Lucas said. "Final road surface will be 23 feet, which is approximately 1-2 feet wider than the previous road surface but still narrower than standard 12-foot lanes. It is the same as we have been doing for the last few years."