Highway Commission Will Listen To Concerns Over County Maintained Roads:

_

The public will be able to learn more about county maintained roads that have one residence on them at a meeting of the Highway Commission on September 20th.

At the County Commission meeting on September 5th Commissioners suggested that concerns over the county maintaining the above mentioned roads, which are essentially private driveways, be addressed to the Highway Commission.

Since 1972 when the "Special Road Districts" were dissolved and replaced with the Stone County Highway Commission after the county adopted the Alternative Form Highway Commission over $750,000 has been spent to maintain these roads that are essentially private driveways.

The roads in question that have been maintained by the special road districts were "grandfathered" into the new county maintained system, according to the County Commission's attorney, Bill McCullah.

When asked how long citizens in the county would be expected to maintain the roads that lead to a private residence Presiding Commissioner Dennis Wood responded, "We inherited this when we were elected." 

"Once we took the roads over, it is our responsibility to maintain them," said Wood. 

Like everyone else, the county is financially strapped and a freeze has been enacted for new road projects.  ""Money for roads has diminished," said Wood.  "No money has been taken out of general revenue and given to the Road and Bridge in the last three years."

The meeting will get underway at 10 a.m. on the third floor of the old courthouse in Galena.