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Resident and roads staff urge changes at Sully Creek bridge approach to reduce crashes and dust
Summary
At the June 4 Billings County commission meeting, department head Pat described repeated crashes, dust and traffic increases at the Sully Creek Bridge approach and asked the county to study narrowing the Y to a T, add guardrails and use reclaimed blacktop; commissioners agreed to engineer a study before deciding.
Pat, a county road department head, told commissioners the Sully Creek Bridge approach has had “very, very little” maintenance since it was built and that traffic has increased dramatically in the last 43 years. He said vehicles now routinely pass the site at high speeds and described an instance when a driver “ended up in the creek.”
Pat asked the county to consider converting the Y-shaped intersection to a T, installing guardrails and placing secondhand blacktop from a county pit on the surface. “If you make it a T and put guardrails in there, then they're gonna have to … slow down to make the turn,” he said. Commissioners agreed the request raised safety and dust-control questions that deserve an engineering review and further study of easements.
Commissioner-level members asked whether stop signs had previously existed and whether the county holds the necessary easements to change the road alignment. Pat and other staff said the county will have the road superintendent review the location, check easement records and, if needed, engage an engineer to produce options and cost estimates. The chair said staff would return with a study rather than a same-day decision.
