By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorWarren County Commissioners voted 2-1 Thursday to sign a settlement agreement that is expected to end a stalemate among four government entities and other parties on the future of Augusta Bottom Road.The agreement states that four governments — Warren County, St. Charles County, Washington and Augusta — will each provide funds totaling $80,000 to have guardrails erected in the area known as the Augusta Parkway. In addition, Warren County will assume ownership of the portion known as the Augusta Parkway.In the event a flood would destroy the levee road over the next 10 years, no repairs would be made unless funding was made available through FEMA.The agreement is contingent upon the dismissal of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents of a 16-year-old Washington girl following a fatal crash on Augusta Bottom Road in October 2010. The suit must be dismissed by Aug. 31, or the settlement agreement will be voided.Presiding Commissioner Roger Mauzy and Northern District Commissioner Dan Hampson voted in support of the agreement. Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner had the lone dissenting vote.Other parties listed in the agreement were St. Charles County, Augusta, Washington, Kessler Farms, Inc., Beatrice R. Kessler Trust, Kathryn Kessler, Diane Kessler, Thomas Kessler, David Never and Dawn Tucker. It was unknown if any of the other parties had already approved the agreement.Augusta Bottom Road has been a hot topic for decades and the interest was renewed following the 2010 crash that killed Ella Neier, of Washington. It is located in southeastern Warren County and is primarily used by motorists traveling to and from St. Charles County and Washington.The portion of the road in Warren County is gravel, while the St. Charles County section is paved with asphalt.Augusta Bottom Road remains open and is used on a daily basis by motorists, though signs are posted stating that a portion of it is closed.Warren County will provide $20,0000 in funds for guardrails to be installed on both sides of Augusta Parkway, according to the agreement. The rest of the funds will come from Augusta ($20,000), St. Charles County ($25,000 to be loaned to Augusta) and Washington ($15,000). The guardrails had been recommended as part of a road safety audit conducted by HR Green, Inc., in 2011.As part of the agreement, Warren County will be required to repair Augusta Parkway and maintain it to where it is similar to the rest of the roadway that lies in the county, and be allowed to install reflective warning signs where utility poles and a tree are located in lieu of moving or removing the objects.Warren County must assume ownership of the Augusta Parkway by Oct. 30 and complete repairs and safety improvements this fall if feasible, but no later than July 1, 2016, the agreement states.Hampson said Augusta Bottom Road “has plagued this county for many years” and it was time to reach a compromise.“I have had so many people from Warren County tell me to fix it and get the road open,” he remarked last week. “That is what concerns me. Then you have to take into consideration the people that live in Franklin County, St. Charles County that use this road. We have the money. It has to be fixed now or forever forget it.”Kluesner, meanwhile, offered safety concerns for motorists who might crash on other parts of Augusta Bottom Road where the guardrails are not present.“I agree the Neier case needs to be settled and I agree the farmers need a way to get their crop to and from their field and back and forth from farm to farm,” Kluesner said.“Augusta Bottom Road is an antiquated road that does not meet modern times. By picking up the easement for the Augusta Parkway, you’re going to put between 500 to 1,000 cars on a gravel road per day. That gravel road is sitting on top of levee. If they drive off a levee, they are most certainly going to turn over. There is no slope to the levee.”He added, “The other thing I want to make you aware of, St. Charles County and Franklin County are first-class counties and have very little gravel roads. There is a generation that has never driven on a gravel road. I think that is jeopardizing some folks by opening the road.”Mauzy disagreed, responding that the county owed to the public to keep the road open.“Obviously there is an issue with the way it was built,” he said. “You both have seen them speeding down that road. If we can make that road safer, they will still speed, but we will have those (guardrails) up.”Prior to Thursday’s action, Warren County has long stated it would only maintain the portion of Augusta Bottom Road between Augusta Parkway and Highway 47. It said Augusta Parkway was under the jurisdiction of Augusta, which received a federal grant to repair it after it was washed out by the 1993 Missouri River flood.In 2010, Ella Neier was killed when the car she was driving traveled off Augusta Bottom Road, in the section of Augusta Parkway, and into a large pool of water that was created by floodwaters.Neier’s parents allege that the defendants failed to properly maintain and improve the roadway, leading to the fatal crash.Augusta Bottom Road