Residents tell Dearborn County commissioners Goose Run road is deteriorating and a safety risk

Several residents told the Dearborn County Board of Commissioners that Goose Run (also referenced in the record as Gooseburn Road) is severely deteriorated, at risk of collapsing into a creek, and poses an emergency-access and public-safety hazard. They asked how roads are prioritized for repair and requested a plan and the underlying data that determine the county’s repair list.

“My name is Michael Mazzo. I have great concerns about the county’s plan or lack of plan of maintaining Gooseburn Road,” Michael Mazzo said, identifying himself and giving a Center Township address. He said that 12 years of “patches and substandard repairs” had left sections of the road “undriveable” at the north end and that bank erosion had reduced the ability for two-way traffic. Mazzo said he had contacted the Highway Department superintendent multiple times since 2015 and was told previously that the road was in severe condition and that there had been plans to rebuild nearby Park and Crossroads in 2025. “I still have not [been] given a plan to repair Goose Run or the part of what I need to do to get this on the county,” he said.

Another resident, Gary Schwab, told commissioners Goose Run becomes “really sketchy” during high-water events and described situations in which family members and emergency responders faced difficulty navigating the route. “It’s a safe thing, big time,” Schwab said.

County staff and a commissioner explained that the highway maintenance program faces limited funds and must cover a large inventory of assets. A staff speaker described the department’s inventory of bridges, small structures, culverts, signs and roads and the department budget; staff said sudden, unplanned needs such as slips and slope failures this year had required reallocating funds and could delay planned paving. Staff told residents they would locate and provide the traffic counts and condition reports Mazzo requested and said the information could be reevaluated to determine whether Goose Run should be moved up the repair list.

Residents provided several specific details to the commissioners: Mazzo said about 15 residents live on Goose Run; he said unplanned changes in adjacent roads had increased traffic on Goose Run and that the last county traffic count he had been told about was 42 vehicles. Residents urged commissioners to consider short-term maintenance or mitigation to preserve the road while awaiting larger reconstruction funds.

Commissioners and staff described the budgeting process for road work as part of the county’s annual budget that goes before the county council; staff said large emergency repairs and slope failures can consume a significant portion of the available maintenance funds in a given year. Staff agreed to follow up with the traffic and condition data Mazzo requested and to share it with the residents and the board for further consideration.

No formal motion or vote to expedite repairs on Goose Run is recorded in the transcript. Residents asked to remain in contact and requested updates as staff compiles the requested data.