By Ed PruneauRecord Staff WriterWarren County commissioners will hold a public hearing Dec. 21 to decide whether the county can take over maintenance of a controversial stretch of the Augusta Bottom Road.The county recently assumed ownership of the section known as the Augusta Parkway after securing the final easements from the Riegel and Kessler families, Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said Nov. 30.Although it’s in Warren County, the parkway had been the responsibility of the town of Augusta, which rebuilt it with a federal grant after the 1993 flood washed out that stretch.Warren County took over ownership as part of an agreement spawned by a wrongful death lawsuit.Kluesner told members of the Washington Area Highway Transportation Committee last week that the county can’t immediately begin maintaining the parkway because it “goes against our road policy.”That policy prohibits the county from owning a road that goes over a levee, dam or is adjacent to a body of water.The flood that washed out the parkway section left behind large ponds on both sides of the road.If all goes well at the variance hearing, county road crews will start grading work on the road, Kluesner told committee members.“We have a letter from Augusta requesting us to take the road over,” he said. Once the road has been graded, the county plans to reopen it to traffic.Safety improvements, including guardrails and warning signs, are slated to be added next year. People have continued to use the road despite it being closed for months due to the condition and high water this summer.Kluesner stressed that the road will be maintained with a gravel surface from Highway 47 to the St. Charles County line. The short section in St. Charles County is paved with asphalt.There are no plans to pave or chip and seal the road, he noted.Reduced SpeedKluesner did say he will push for lowering the speed limit on the road from 30 to 25 mph.“I am very concerned about the traffic on the road,” he commented.“Every time I’m on the road I’ve been passed,” he added.As part of a settlement agreement, the county must make repairs and safety improvements this fall if feasible, but no later than July 1, 2016.The agreement states that four governments — Warren County, St. Charles County, Washington and Augusta — will provide funds totaling $80,000 to have guardrails erected in the area known as the parkway. The guardrails were recommended as part of a road safety audit conducted in 2011.The agreement is in response to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a 16-year-old Washington girl who was killed in a traffic accident on the road in 2010. That suit was settled Aug. 31.Augusta Bottom Road is located in southeastern Warren County and southwestern St. Charles County. It is primarily used by motorists traveling to and from St. Charles County and Washington.Augusta Bottom