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Meade County lowers New Underwood speed, sets axle and gross-weight limits and assigns $1 million for repairs
Summary
The board reduced the speed limit on New Underwood Road, adopted a 7-ton-per-axle/80,000-pound gross limit countywide with permitting provisions, and approved assigning $1,000,000 from assigned funds toward a milling and base-stabilization patch for 7.1 miles of New Underwood Road.
Meade County commissioners voted to reduce the posted speed limit on New Underwood Road and to set new weight restrictions for county roads, and they authorized $1 million in assigned funds to begin milling and base stabilization on a badly deteriorated 7.1-mile stretch of New Underwood Road.
The board voted to reduce the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph from the Elk Creek Road intersection south to the Pennington County line. Commissioners also approved a countywide limit of 7 tons per axle and an 80,000-pound gross-vehicle-weight cap, with a permit process for overweight loads. The motions passed on voice votes.
Why it matters: New Underwood Road has shown accelerated rutting and potholing after a severe winter and is a key corridor for local agriculture, gravel hauling and interstate traffic. Commissioners said the combined speed and weight limits are intended as interim safety and preservation measures while the county seeks state or federal reconstruction funding.
Commissioners and staff described the limits as a balancing act among safety, preservation and the needs of local haulers. Scott Phillips, who said he lives in Hereford and hauls products that use the route, said the road has become “dangerous” and emphasized the need to keep the corridor open for trucks that move cattle, grain and gravel. Rodney Gray of Western Construction warned the board that stricter axle limits could push more trucks onto the road (because fewer payloads per truck requires more trips) and urged enforcement of limits for out-of-state carriers.
Sheriff Pat West said deputies have worked weight-enforcement operations in the past and supported lower speeds in the most damaged sections. Highway Superintendent Troy Eastman said the county already maintains and weighs trucks internally and is setting a permit framework by which operators can seek temporary overweight allowances for necessary hauls; the board asked staff to develop a fee schedule for permits.
On the repair plan, Eastman presented estimates and options. He said milling and base stabilization for the south 7.1-mile section would cost roughly $501,000 for base work alone, and total near-term patching options would come to roughly $900,000 to $1,000,000 depending on surface treatment. The county previously earmarked $1,000,000 for the project, and commissioners voted to release that assigned funding and set a public hearing on May 13 to consider formal authorization and any contract details.
The board’s motions also directed staff to pursue state and federal grant options, including a possible earmark and safety grants; a county representative described outreach that generated more than 1,000 letters of support to federal elected officials and said a U.S. senator’s office is monitoring the request.
Ending: Commissioners said the measures — lower speed limit on the worst section, countywide axle and gross-weight limits, a permit process and the $1 million allocation for base stabilization — are temporary steps to preserve roads while the county pursues long-term reconstruction funding.
