Unmarked roads pose safety concerns, but no fix budgeted

By KELSEY UNRUH

Staff writer

A county resident has raised concern about the lack of road lines on Old Mill Rd. south of Peabody.

Beth Eldridge of Peabody said repairs were made last spring to several miles south of Peabody, but no lines were painted back on after repairs were done.

“I waited and waited and there wasn’t any lines put back down,” Eldridge said.

Eldridge called the road and bridge department last winter to express concerns with there being no lines.

“I was driving on this road and I couldn’t see anything,” Eldridge said. “In fact, (Randy Crawford) was on the road that night and he was concerned too about the safety of that road.”

When Eldridge called in the winter, she said she was told that lines are normally painted in the summer. When she called back this summer, she found out it was not among the summer road plans.

Commission Chairman Dan Holub told Eldridge this was due to lack of funding. However, Holub agreed that it is a safety hazard.

Eldridge was concerned with the safety of drivers, especially teenagers and Eldridge’s family.

“I have grandchildren that go to Berean several times a day,” Eldridge said. “I drive that road all the time to Wichita.”

She also explained how her daughter-in-law had driven on Old Mill Rd. a few nights prior in heavy fog and how difficult it was in those conditions.

Eldridge said she had called KDOT to ask them about the lines, but didn’t receive an answer from them.

“I think it’s a safety issue, to me, more than anything,” Eldridge said.

Commissioners told Eldridge they would look into the painting of the lines and try to resolve the problem.

In other business:

• Commissioner Randy Dallke said rain erosion has left two angle irons protruding from a shallow trench in the middle of a road at Vista and 260th Rds. He said fire trucks recently had been there, and explained that if one of them had hit the irons, severe damage could have been done to its tires. He said a road grader worked on one road, but left unfixed the other, although ample dirt was available alongside the road for a repair.
• Board members offered to pay $3,200 per acre for 3.512 acres for right-of-way acquisition for the Nighthawk Rd. project.