A controversial $75 million road project in Jefferson County has hit a dead end.
The city announced it was scrapping plans to build a two-mile Arnold Parkway just hours before a scheduled homeowners meeting to discuss buyouts.
Walking around Christy Drive on a hot Monday night paralleled the last few weeks of heated conversations about the Arnold Parkway Project, which planned for the construction of a two-mile road to connect Highway 141 and Richardson Road.
It called for a significant land buyout of a nearby shopping plaza and homes.
"We were ready to go," said Greg Noble, who has lived on Harry's Lane with his wife for 17 years and raised their three children.
Some of Nobles' neighbors were prepared to take the $177,000 offer to households with a premium up to $225,000.
"Most of us are not saying no, we're just asking them to meet us in the middle," said Emily Davis, who lives next door to Noble. "We already had the appraisal lined up, we were getting ready to do all that."
Others refused to move, period, regardless of what prices were being offered.
But there's now a change of plans, as the city released a statement saying it's no longer pursuing the project.
The city said Monday afternoon that it will finish buying any of those properties still under contract, if the sellers are still interested.
The Nobles were ready to leave in the next few years, but now they're dealing with the city's new decision.
"It kind of sucks," Noble said. "We were ready to move so we weren't going to fight. We were just ready to get out. Now that they've backed off, it's not fun. We don't know what we're going to do."
An Arnold native and single mom, Davis bought her home in September 2023.
Considering she has to take care of a mortgage and her 7-year-old daughter Madeline, this pivot is more than just a big wrench thrown in her plans.
"Now you're abandoning everything," Davis said.
"It's going to lower our values now," Davis said. "It's going to lower our values. When they first bought that house next door to me in April, they hadn't cut the grass in almost a month and a half. We didn't know Arnold owned it at the time. We reported it. Now we come to find months later, we reported Arnold on their own house."
However, Davis doesn't think these conversations are over.
"Now we're waiting on the next knock," Davis said. "That's just the reality of this. This is just a speed bump. They're not done."
The City of Arnold said there will be no further efforts to acquire any additional property. Local business owners who would have had to relocate due to this project said they are relieved it's not going through as of Monday.
The group "Citizens Against the Construction of Arnold Parkway" released a statement Monday night saying their work isn't over yet.