TUCSON (KVOA) - It is a battle between two communities - Catalina and Saddlebrooke divided on a road that borders Pima and Pinal County.
It is a road truly divided.
Amanda Maurer is a member of Citizens for Re-Opening Edwin Road. She said the road closure has placed a hardship on the people who live on Edwin Road.
People like Peggy Nelson who has lived here for 17 years. She says she has to take a scenic route to her house by going through a series of washes and roads.
"We have an RV," Nelson said. "It's hard to get around the corner at Tejas and Empty Wash."
Right now it's okay, however, the 17-year resident said "when the monsoons really hit, it becomes a quagmire of mud."
That is a concern for the people who use Edwin Road, including emergency vehicles. Maurer contacted Golder Ranch Fire Department.
"They told us they can get a small truck here, but they can't get their rigs here," Maurer said. "Therefore, this is putting a lot of members of this community in danger."
The majority of the road sits in Pinal County. However, a portion of it is in Pima County.
According to Pima County officials, they have an intergovernmental agreement that Pinal County will maintain the road.
When they were notified about the closure, Pima County asked them to notify residents.
Maurer said the only notification they received was "we had a flashing sign up here notifying us of the road closing and we've had so much work with utility companies on this road. When they said that, we assumed it was closing for construction."
She added there were never any meetings or hearings about the road. The road has been closed since June 29.
Saddlebrooke is in Pinal County. Residents who live in Unit 49, which borders Edwin Road, went before the Board of Supervisors and explained they had "serious issues with noise, traffic, unregistered unlicensed vehicles, dust, dumping and destruction of the desert."
Pinal County listened. In May, officials saw the problems the residents were having firsthand by touring the area.
A decision was made to close the road at Edwin and Columbus.
News 4 Tucson spoke to several Saddlebrooke residents about the issue. Many declined to be interviewed.
One woman who agreed to an interview, but requested anonymity, said "People are just afraid. They feel it's become hostile."
She added, up until recently, there weren't many houses on the Pinal County side.
"So what we have here is residential growth impacting what was a recreational right-of-way at one time," she said. "It's accelerated because this is on the border of two counties."
Not all Saddlebrooke residents feel the same way.
"We got involved to try and figure out where it would be good for both the Catalina people and the Saddlebrooke people," Eddie Lopez said. "There has to be an alternative solution."
On Friday, petitions to Re-Open Edwin Road will be picked up. A real estate attorney has been retained by the citizens for reopening Edwin Road.
For more information, find Citizens to Re-Open Edwin Road on Facebook.
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