The Troup County Board of Commissioners may soon be reviewing which roads are marked for “no through traffic” for trucks following a series of complaints regarding tractor trailers on small county roads.

Commissioner Morris Jones brought before his fellow commissioners citizen complaints that he had received regarding the trucks, which both he and Commissioner Ellis Cadenhead said needed to be addressed due to safety concerns and need to maintain county roads.

“Commissioner Cadenhead and myself have been getting a lot of calls about trucks coming from Greenville, cutting through on county roads to get to their destination,” Jones said. “They’re coming on Mountville-Hogansville Road, coming through the Hogansville bypass and the scales and coming that way to get back to I-185, and what is bringing this up is, citizens have been concerned about these trucks that are loaded with whatever.”

Jones said that trucks carrying asphalt have been seen using the roads and concern was shared for both the wear on the roads and the safety of the people living on the county road. He noted that in some instances county roads are being used by trucks instead of the nearby interstate or state roads. Jones said that it was his understanding that logging trucks were required to take the quickest route to a state highway instead of relying on county roads for routes.

“I think for some reason some of these trucks get off the road, and then they rely on GPS to get back, and it’s taking them on some of these county roads,” Cadenhead said. “To me, that is really hurting our county roads, but the safety — I know that we don’t like to drop the speed limits, but somehow, someway, we’ve got to do something to get these trucks off these rural roads.”

Cadenhead said that he had also heard concerns regarding the future use of Flatshoals Road Bridge by large trucks. 

The county has not enacted restrictions on large truck use of county roads in a number of years, but it has in the past, and it would have the power to make certain restrictions.

“The only way to do that would be for the board of commissioners to enact an ordinance that would restrict trucks on road,” County Engineer James Emery said. 

“We’ve got a few of those around the county, but the last time … we looked at it, there were 20 roads that were considered at the time around the county, and it looks like the final recommendation at that time was to change three roads to no through truck designation. Those were Fling Road, Old West Point Road and North Butts Mill Road.”

Emery said that the previous decision could be reviewed and amended by the board of commissioners. County Commission Chairman Patrick Crews asked about enforcement, and Emery said that the county could request increased focus on the areas from enforcing agencies.

Other items covered during the work session on Thursday included:

• The board of commissioners was asked to accept a court services grant to be used for the Carroll County Case Manager position. Troup County is the fiscal agent that would receive and distribute the funds, but the grant would have no financial impact on Troup County. 
• The board of commissioners was also asked to lift the hiring freeze to fill the budgeted position of Troup County Case Manager for the Mental Health Court.
• The Troup County Board of Commissioners was asked to allow the community development department to apply for money from the ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation for the Georgia County Internship Program for summer 2020.
• The commission was also asked to approve receipt of a supplemental award of $12,000 from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to be used for an assessor. The county’s match of $1,333 will come from the DATE Fund. 
• Community Development Director Jay Anderson presented the 2020 updated fee schedule. Seven fees went up on the updated document, which Anderson said kept Troup County in a competitive cost range compared to nearby counties while covering costs to the county of performing necessary inspections.
• The board of commissioners reviewed updates to electronic payments for vendors paid through SPLOST IV funds. Mosley said that the update would continue the county’s progress away from unnecessary paper and printing costs. 

The Troup County Board of Commissioners will meet again on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at 100 Ridley Ave.