Residents of a small, isolated neighborhood on the Tiverton/Fall River line are nearing their wit’s ends as the only road that accesses their homes — a private track through Arruda’s Dairy Farm off Stafford Road —continues to deteriorate. Now, both the farm’s owners and the neighbors want answers, and while Tiverton officials are trying to help them, they said their hands are mostly tied.

The homes on Greenleaf Street in Fall River trace their roots back to the 1890s, when they were built as vacation properties. Fall River purchased the streets the homes are on in 1977, making them public property. But Arruda’s Lane, the only street that leads to the land-locked neighborhood, is owned by Arruda’s, and under an arrangement reached in the 1970s between the Arruda-Moniz family and the City of Fall River, the city agreed to maintain a portion of the road closest to the neighborhood, farm owners said. That maintenance hasn’t happened in some time, residents and Tony Moniz, co-owner of Arruda Farm, said. As a result, driving down the private track is getting harder and harder as the asphalt deteriorates and potholes turn from minor fissures into massive, six-inch deep holes.

“They’re all great people,” Tony Moniz, co-owner of Arruda’s Dairy Farm, said of the residents. “For snow removal and all of that, they all kick in.”

Moniz, who himself owns property in the neighborhood, said Fall River has historically maintained that part of the road, and he believes the city should continue to do so.

“I think the city of Fall River should do something.”

Neighbors on Greenleaf Street, including Jim Kennedy, agreed. He and others said the road is a safety hazard. He said the road had always had potholes, but they got progressively worse after February’s record snowstorm. On rainy days, the holes become flooded and indistinguishable from the asphalt, making it even more difficult to drive on.

The Kennedys, who have lived in the area for 44 years, said Fall River officials claim they have no documentation of the agreement to maintain a portion of the road, despite previously last paving it in 2007. The city continues to use the road as access to the area as well and provides trash service.

Another resident, Keith Reavey, said misconceptions have been circulating about the agreement, and that some have claimed the residents should be in charge of the roads.

While no resolution has been reached, the road continues to deteriorate. Multiple residents, including Reavey’s children, said their cars have been damaged by the massive potholes.

Tiverton Town administrator Patrick Jones said this week that while the town would love to help the residents, there is very little the town can do given the easements in place on the private road.

“The town of Tiverton does not have any authority to do anything regarding a private road,” he explained.

Meanwhile, town council president John Edwards said he has talked with people in the mayor’s office in Fall River and said they acknowledged that it is their responsibility to fix the road.

Fall River city councilor Christopher Spencer, the chair of the city's public safety committee, has also been in communication with the residents and has been attempting to get work done on the road, referring to it as a public safety concern.

“I went and looked at the road and it is in very bad condition,” he said. “There has to be some immediate rectification.”

Spencer added that while he has been in contact with the mayor's office as well, and that while Tiverton is not to blame for the situation, he would still like to sit down with town officials about the situation as a solution benefits both towns.