County asked to do something about Aulne Road
Raymond Just and 10 other adults came to ask the Marion County Commission Monday to do something about dust, noise, and lack of drivability on 140th Road — the Aulne road.
From Aulne east, "we're pleased with the (paved) road," said Just. The group would like to have the road blacktopped from Aulne west to 13-mile Road, also known as Indigo Road, a distance of seven miles, Just said.
This was one of the first roads graveled in the 1930s, he said. "It's an important road. It was then, and it still is. It's an emergency route — the only one between Highways 50 and 56 (off 77) that's passable during a flood," Just said.
He said the road was a blacktop one until about 1980. At that time upkeep costs got to be too much, and it was "torn up" and became a gravel road.
"It makes good sense to blacktop it, instead of coming to a dead end (of the blacktop) at Aulne," Just said.
A woman in the group said the road is now dangerous because of 18-wheelers using it. Dust can eliminate visibility. And you don't dare to stop because you might get rear-ended or run over, she said.
Late at night, too, there is noise from the road's users, Just said. He's been awakened at midnight, and at 2 and 4 a.m., he said. Not often, and not by local, i.e. Marion County, trucks.
A woman said that a Mennonite church two miles east of Indigo Road and a mile north of 140th is said to be the biggest such country Mennonite church in the U.S.
People wanting to go there have to take a roundabout route because of the dust and (when wet) mud, she said. They have to go north to Hillsboro, and then "around" to get to the church.
It would be nice if they did not have to do that, she said.
When going to funerals there, people sometimes get lost, or the mud slows them down, and they arrive too late to see much, or any, of the funeral, a man said.
Another man with the group said he would like to sell his house, located on 140th, but people say "they don't like my road," he said.
There is a lot of traffic between Sunflower and Nighthawk roads, people in the group said. This is a five-mile stretch running east and west on both sides of Aulne.
Gravel on the road chips cars' paint and windshields, several people said. There are chuckholes. The road is dangerous for those transporting heavy loads, drills, and such items, one man said.
"If it's an emergency route, then I think you (commissioners) should give it some recognition (priority)," said one man in the group.
The road is usually still passable, when snow has blocked other roads, group members said.
Commission Chairman Howard Collett said, "Cost is our main concern."
"We think we should be in line to get it blacktopped," said Just. "We pay taxes." He said he had talked to more than 30 people about the situation, and had thought they would attend Monday's meeting.
Gerald Kelsey, superintendent of roads and bridges for the county, said grain and fertilizer are being hauled over the road, as well as on blacktopped roads around Tampa.
Just said, "Harvey and McPherson county trucks don't need to be using it."
A man said a good base is needed for the road, and Just said a crown would help, too, "so that you're not just dumping more and more rock like into a hog pit."
Collett said, "I sympathize with your fight against bad roads. We'll take it under consideration."
Commissioner Leroy Wetta said where to find the funds is the main consideration. "We'd have to rob Peter to pay Paul — do this and not do something else (we've committed to). It's a matter of resources. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. But a piece of overlay somewhere else will have to 'go' if we do this. We'd have to do a chip and seal instead of an overlay there, then," said Wetta.
"We want to be in line, on the schedule, anyway," said a man with the group.
"We feel like we've been forgotten in recent years," said Just.
Collett and Commissioner Bob Hein said, "We'll look at it."
"It's a balancing act," said Collett.
Kelsey, after the group left the commissioners' room, said he would favor chip and seal "at most" on the Aulne road. He said he thinks trucks will continue to beat and tear it up.
Kelsey said also a consultant is needed for bridges to be constructed in the Durham area. He recommended Cook, Flatt and Strobel, and commissioners assented.
