MONROVIA, Alabama - Aerial maps showed a Jeff Road expansion would eat up about 25 feet of Heather and Bryan Bates's front yard and gulp down two 70-year-old trees as well.

Wanda Moore, right, and Terry Lynch, try to figure how much right of way needed to widen Jeff Road will eat into their front yards. (Paul Huggins/phuggins@al.com)

But it was the maps showing fives new lanes overtaking the current two-lane roadway for six miles that most upset the Bates. They haven't talked to a Realtor, but internet research showed busy roadways can lower property values by 10 to 15 percent, they said.

"I know it will become another Highway 72 and businesses will move in and that will be that," Heather Bates said. "It will benefit those who use Jeff but don't live on it. Those of us who live along Jeff could do without it."

The Bates have lived on Jeff Road for three years and chose their 1.6-acre lot because they thought gave them a quiet, peaceful home. Booming residential development has turned Jeff Road into a clogged thoroughfare with commuters heading into Huntsville and Redstone Arsenal for work and/or dropping off children at three schools.

Next week Madison County will apply for $13.5 million from the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP) to five-lane Jeff Road from Capshaw Road to Douglass Road. Eventually, the five lanes would extend to Alabama 53.

It calls for 100 feet of right of way, enough for four lanes of north-south traffic and a middle turn lane, plus sidewalks, curbs and gutters on both sides. If approved, the county would have to find separate money to pay for right of way and engineering services, just as it has had to do with Winchester Road improvements.

Construction probably wouldn't begin until late 2014 or early 2015. Finishing the entire section to Alabama 53 could take eight years. In preparation for those efforts, county and state officials, as well as representatives from Garver, the engineering design firm, held a public meeting Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Monrovia Community Center to show plans and answer questions. Forty-five people had signed in by 5:50 p.m.

As part of future plans, county officials and engineers want to improve Ford Chapel Road to handle extra traffic coming to Sparkman high and middle schools. (Paul Huggins/phuggins@al.com)

The Bates weren't the only ones upset by the future look of the road.

Wanda Moore, who has lived 26 years at 1781 Jeff Road, two houses south of Kelly Spring Road, said it appears she could lose 25 to 28 feet of front yard, putting the roadway close to her front door. She hopes she can qualify for relocation.

"I have two small children. I don't want to be that close to traffic," she said. "And it won't help traffic. It will create more traffic. And they will be speeding and put my kids in jeopardy."

Rebecca Wall, who has lived at 963 Jeff Road for nearly 50 years, stands to lose 20 to 28 feet of her front yard. "I hate to see it, but I know Jeff Road needs to be four-laned," she said. "I see cars backed up to my house from Blake Bottom Road. What is that, a half mile? I know it needs to be done."

Terri Pierce, who had lived at 1460 Jeff Road for 20 years could lose 15 to 20 feet of her yard. Whatever amount of land is lost, she said it doesn't compare to the lost quality of life from attracting more traffic.

Garver's engineering plans for five-laning Jeff Road. (Paul Huggins/phuggins@al.com)

"I don't want to see it stay the same. I've always wanted a third turn lane," Pierce said, noting she was in a wreck trying to get out of her driveway. "But I like the little country setting we got."

State Sen. Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison, Madison County District 3 Commissioner Phil Vandiver and Madison County Engineer Richard Grace were the government officials who joined Garver engineers to answer questions and absorb complaints.

Holtzclaw said the area has a ways to go to improve north-south traffic and hopes expanding Jeff Road now will help the community deal with growing pains should future BRACs bring in more residents. He added that he knows Jeff Road needs traffic relief just from coming to see Bob Jones High School come to play Sparkman High in football.

"If you don't leave two hours before the game, it will be halftime before you park your car," he said.

Should any home or business need to be relocated, a relocation official will determine property value based on similar-sized homes in the immediate area. Relocation officials also would try to place residents who want to stay in the same school district in the nearest properties available.

Vandiver said there are several places where the expanded road will be a tight fit between existing homes and businesses. Those include a couple houses between Watercress subdivision and Ce-Lee Drive, the Cotton Gin, a few businesses on the opposite side of Monrovia Community Center, a couple houses near Kelly Spring Road and the backyards of a few homes in Jeff Orchard Estates.

It's a significant change to those residents affected, Vandiver said, "but if you look at the whole six miles, it's not that negative compared to the overall benefit."