Pat Spencer told Allen County commissioners Tuesday morning 2200 Street, on which she lives, is a popular route for motorists. She thinks the road should be improved.
“You’ve talked about it for years and told me it was high on your priority list,” Spencer said, in an effort to have commissioners take action.
Traffic volume is high with not only cars and pickups, but also semi-transports and other heavy trucks, she said.
The road runs south from U.S. 54 near Gas, has its first mile hard-surfaced, is wider than most county roads and has a high bridge over Elm Creek that means the road doesn’t flood. All those attributes encourage its use, often as a short-cut to elsewhere, and, said Bill King, director of Public Works, probably a means of avoiding being checked for load weights by the Highway Patrol.
“We appreciate your concern, but money is tight right now,” said Commissioner Jim Talkington.
Just how tight, chimed in King, is found in road oil — the bonding agent for maintenance and construction — having risen from 32 cents a gallon to well over $2.
Even so, “I think a paved road is the way to go,” said King, if improvements were made. He suggested two to three inches of asphalt for the two miles Spencer proposed paving, from Nebraska to Minnesota, which would cost about $200,000 a mile.
“We could chip-seal it and it would be a lot better, but only for a little while,” King said. “The big trucks would beat it to death and pretty soon you’d be unhappy with all the potholes.”
Spencer was persistent.
She allowed that when U.S. 54 is rebuilt this summer 2200 likely would have even more traffic as motorists used it and others nearby to avoid congestion in construction zones. She recalled utility lines were moved back from the road 10 years when it was widened, leading residents to think hard-surfacing would be the next step.
“I know the road gets beat to pieces, but there’s not much we can do to keep the heavy trucks off it,” King said.
Kenneth and Marsha Storrer were at the meeting to support Spencer.
Road upgrade sought
