OXFORD – Stephen and Mary Fazan say Moran Road was in good condition back in 2005 when they built their dream home at the northern end of it near county Rt. 32. The crane operator hired to set their modular in place told them it was in such good shape that he hesitated to damage it.
All that changed, however, when Chenango County’s record-breaking floods of 2006 caused the adjacent Glen Brook to overflow, taking the roadway’s surface and a culvert with it. Now, the couple say, their friends drive 8 to 10 miles out of the way to avoid the road’s muddy surface, ruts and potholes.
“We are so beside ourselves. We built a brand new home on a road that was in good condition and I’m now living on a road that’s dangerous. ... There’s practically no road left. It’s barely a car and a half wide in many places and a person could sink three feet off the edge,” Mary said Tuesday.
The Fazans didn’t ask Oxford officials to repair the road until more than a year after the floods, Mary said, wanting to give emergency officials time to repair with “more catastrophic damages” in the town. And even though the Town of Oxford Highway Department installed guard rails, built a new culvert and filled in potholes last year, the Fazans say it’s not enough.
After three letters to local, state and federal representatives, and The Evening Sun, the couple remains unsatisfied.
“Senator Clinton said it’s not a federal issue. The new attorney general said to contact the New York State Department of Transportation. The DOT told us in December that they had no jurisdiction over a town road. Our supervisor won’t return our calls and the town highway superintendent said he doesn’t have the funding to fix it,” Fazan said. “So basically no one can do anything.”
Oxford Supervisor Lawrence Wilcox said the town’s highway department made multiple repairs on the roadway after the June flood and again last year, totaling more than $100,000. Restoration has been delayed by weather at least once, when the second flood in November washed out repairs made after the first flood.
“The driving surface will be returned to stone and oil when we can devote the time and resources to it,” Wilcox said. Town Highway Superintendent Timothy Tefft referred questions on the subject to Wilcox.
A representative with the transportation department at Oxford Academy and Central Schools said no complaints have been received regarding Moran Road. “The driver hasn’t reported any concerns other than normal, seasonal,” she said.