Quarters Road

just won't go away.

More to the

point, new residents to live along the rustic dirt road just keep coming.

County commissioners

say they will give a company one more chance to put a stop to choking

dust through a new coating technique before considering paving the road.

"I am

for anything at this point that makes the dust go away," said resident

Dan Hudson. He, like many residents who oppose paving the road, moved

there because he liked the tree-lined pastoral beauty of the road, but

now he just chokes on the dust, Hudson said.

He asked the

County Commission last week to pave a quarter-mile of the road, where

he and seven of eight residents could agree it needs to be done. Residents

farther down the road are opposed, so he proposed the compromise solution,

he said.

Several other

residents spoke to the commission to back up Hudson's request, including

David Tucker. He moved there, he said, "because of the majestic beauty

of that area of the county." But now 54 homes are connected to the

half-mile road. "The amount of traffic ... simply can't be supported

The road was

plenty dusty before it was graveled, said Hudson, but the gravel dust

is even worse, he said, and more harmful to one's health. "It [dust]

hangs over the entire are for 24 hours a day ... unless it rains,"

he said.

Commissioners

pointed out that there are more Quarters Road residents who oppose paving

it than who favor it. The issue has come up several times.

"There

are people down that road who will tie themselves to those trees,"

said commission Chairman Greg Dunn. But it was clear the board is leaning

toward paving, not just the section Hudson asked for, but the entire road.

"I don't

think people can expect it to stay unpaved forever," said Commissioner

Herb Frady.

Commissioners

paid a firm $18,000 to apply a coating that was supposed to stop the dust,

but it failed. The company has offered to reapply the coating for free,

so commissioners said they're inclined to give the firm another shot.

But after that,

some said they're likely to consider paving.

Some residents

also called for paving the road for safety reasons, but commissioners

said they didn't see how paving would improve safety. The road would be

wider for easier passing, but cars would also be going faster on a paved

road, they said.

"That

will become a high-speed thoroughfare," said Dunn.

If the special

coating still doesn't work and commissioners decide to pave the road,

it will be some time before it can be worked into the budget, commissioners

said.

"There's

no short-term solution here," said Dunn.