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Perry County to solicit bids after heavy turkey‑farm truck traffic damages Cottonwood Road
Summary
After public comment from a large turkey producer about repeated semi‑truck damage, Perry County commissioners voted to solicit contractors for hauling, spreading and grading rock to repair and stabilize roads used by farm traffic.
Perry County commissioners voted 3-0 to solicit bids for contractors to deliver, spread and grade rock on county gravel roads after extended public comment about heavy semi‑truck traffic tied to local turkey farms.
The decision follows a detailed presentation from Travis Strickland, live production manager at Farbest Foods, who told commissioners his company operates five farms in Perry County and regularly moves large volumes of semi truck traffic onto rural roads. "We produce roughly 17,000,000 turkeys a year," Strickland said, and described the local activity that he said produces "289 trucks, semi trucks in a year" for a single farm site (about "a truck and a half a day").
Commissioners and highway staff told Strickland and other residents they have repeatedly worked to maintain the roads but that the specific hill and T intersection at Apricot and Cottonwood roads are suffering from sandstone outcroppings, washboarding and poor drainage that make passage difficult for loaded trucks. "I think the road needs to be scarified, then it needs to have rock put in there with the new soils that are cut up, and then...we should be able to make a gravel road that's passable," said Steve (highway superintendent). He added that after proper shaping the county should roll the surface and consider dust‑control binding agents.
Strickland described the operational pressures: 20 semi deliveries to move poults to a grower in a roughly 30‑hour window, 78 live‑haul trucks a year for loadouts, 6 semi loads of litter per farm per year, and an estimated 42 semi loads of manure annually from a farm — figures he presented to illustrate frequency and seasonality of heavy truck use.
Commissioners and highway staff discussed possible fixes including scarifying existing hardpan, adding a minimum depth of rock, using a water truck or moisture additive to compact the surface, and trialing dust‑control chemicals. The board also asked staff to gather pricing and vendor options for water trucks, rollers and dust mitigation products.
The commissioners' motion to solicit bids for hauling and spreading rock was made and seconded during the meeting and carried unanimously (motion carried 3‑0). County staff agreed to draft bid specifications and to coordinate with the highway superintendent and affected landowners on priority sections to include in the solicitation.
Why this matters: Commissioners said stabilizing the roads would reduce repeated emergency repairs, lower ongoing maintenance costs from open‑top hauls and protect resident property and business investment in northern Perry County. The board directed staff to return with bid language, cost estimates and a list of priority road segments for contractor delivery and placement.
What happens next: Highway staff will develop the notice to bidders and seek multiple vendors for township‑level delivery and spreading; commissioners said they want options for contracted hauling to supplement county equipment during peak hauling and emergency events.
