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Several residents who live on Carter Road, south of Brudidge, say the trucks which all sand from a pit at the end of their road have caused problems for them for the past five years.

During a meeting of the Pike County Commission on Jan. 21, at the request of Commissioner Ray Goodson, commissioners voted to restrict the weight limit on the road to a gross limit of five tons. Wiregrass Construction Company has been using the road for access to a dirt pit at the end of the road to get materials used in their asphalt mixture. The pit is located on land owned by Ravon Graham.

"A weight restriction on Carter road would deny us access to get the gravel and sand mixtures we need and cause us extreme expense," said John Harper, who was at the county commission meeting on Jan. 28 to discuss the new restriction.

By the end of the meeting Graham, Harper, County Engineer Herb Huner and Commissioner Goodson had agreed to meet later in the week to see if some type of agreement could be reached concerning the road.

Golden Carter, who has lived on the road for all of his life, said most days approximately 70 trucks travel the road. "This has been going on for the past four to five years," he said.

Carter said the trucks have torn up the road so bad at times that it had caused damage to the regular automobiles which travel it. He said the trucks are also bad about speeding down the road and stirring up a lot of dust.

Carter’s daughter, Jan Dismukes, who also lives on the road said, "The dust is so bad on days when the trucks are running you can’t even go outside. We can’t walk down the road like we used to in fear of getting dusted or hit by one of the trucks, because they drive so fast."

Dismukes said safety on the road is a huge concern of hers and other residents who live on the road. "There’s a blind curve that you can’t see around, and if you meet a truck in that curve you might get hit, because they do travel so fast," she said. "And our kids can’t get out and play on the road because of the danger involved."

Dismukes and Carter said they were aware to two other roads which crossed the property owned by Graham, which would give the trucks access to the pit. "I asked him one day why didn’t he use one of his roads and he said he would," said Dismukes. "But he hasn’t yet."

Wednesday, after the meeting with Huner, Harper and Goodson, Graham said he had not told them he would use either of the other two roads, which he owns, to access the pit. "They have not ask me anything," he said. "All they have done is talk to the commissioners.

One of the roads owned by Graham is off of County Road 2, just north of Carter Road. Graham said to use that road the trucks would have to cross a lake dam and another road would have to be built to connect with the county’s road.

"And, the other road is a farm road, which won’t hold up to heavy truck traffic," he said.

Graham said during Wednesday’s meeting, Harper offered to put crushed asphalt on the road, at no charge to the county, to help stop the dust problem. He also said if the county were to lift the weight restriction and post a speed limit on the road, the company would see that the drivers adhered to it, according to Graham.

"We pay taxes for the upkeep on county roads just like everyone else," said Graham. "I have a right to use it just like they do."

Graham went on to say that Harper said Wiregrass Construction only had enough material stockpiled for about 10 more days before they would have to seek an alternative source for their mixture.

"That could take up to six weeks," he said, adding that the materials used for the asphalt had to be approved by the Alabama Department of Transportation.

"I would like to get this matter resolved as soon as possible," said Graham.