Officials warn diverted Highway 63 traffic is overloading gravel roads, urge temporary controls

County officials told the meeting that closing Highway 63 has led GPS-guided drivers to parallel gravel roads not meant for high traffic volumes, creating dust problems and safety risks for residents. The official who led the resolution discussion said the county has already received complaints and expects near misses and accidents if traffic patterns persist.

"We're going to have a serious accident at some point in time, especially with the dust," the commissioner said, arguing that temporary measures to slow traffic were warranted. Officials discussed options including temporary barricades, additional stop signage or other short-term controls and said they would consult County Roads and the DOT engineer to map which gravel roads are being used.

Officials also noted that dust-control materials have been ordered and that the DOT engineer has been driving detour routes to identify where GPS devices are directing traffic. The board said it will consider further resolutions or updates if monitoring shows more roads are being affected or safety concerns escalate.