DAPHNE, Ala. — The Baldwin County Commission held an informational meeting Wednesday to give an update on a proposed service road north of Interstate 10 that will stretch from U.S. Highway 98 to Alabama Highway 181.

“The service road is a county project,” presenter, county engineer Cal Markert, said, clarifying the difference between this and another road project. “The interchange would be under the state system.” County Road 13 stops before reaching I-10 from the south, and Markert said there is talk of making it an interchange to allow more access points to and from the interstate.

Residents were allowed to ask questions to Markert, and most residents voiced a specific concern or question with the project or stated their unsupportive stance.

“How many times do we have to protest this project?” Daphne resident Nancy Cox asked, to which Daphne Mayor Fred Small responded, “We won’t get into the politics tonight.”

When County Commissioner Bob James spoke, Daphne resident Tom O’Hara argued that Small’s office sent him an e-mail that stated there would be “no politicians speaking,” but Small responded that he said this “will not be a political meeting.”

“It was for informational purposes only,” Small said after the meeting.

However, O’Hara didn’t see it that way.

See the full story in the Jan. 21 edition of The Bulletin.