Marengo hears concerns over Landfill Road
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 10, 2005
LINDEN-Residents of Landfill Road came before the Marengo County Commission Tuesday to express concerns with the condition of their road. One of the main concerns had to do with garbage pickup on the road. Residents said the condition of the road in their area has become so bad the garbage truck would not pick up their waste.
Landfill Road resident Alice Aldridge said there have been occasions where trash pickup is not taking place because of poor road conditions. Aldridge said she felt if they are paying for the services they should receive them.
“We don’t understand why we have to pay these fees for garbage pickup when they aren’t coming to pick it up,” Aldridge said. “They say they wont pick up the garbage on our roads because the road is so bad. They haven’t been picking up the garbage on the dirt road part of our road since July.”
Aldridge said she had made phone calls and was told road conditions were the major problem. Aldridge said they needed help to get the road back to a condition where heavy trucks could use it.
“The road is so bad that there are times on the road you can’t even pass,” Aldridge said. “When it floods out the water goes all over the place. We are in bad shape down there.”
Aldridge said she had written Artur Davis several times to appeal for help.
Commission Chairman Freddie Armstead said he agreed the garbage should be picked up and the commission would check into the problem..
“I don’t know why they have not been picking up the garbage,” Armstead said. “That is something we will look into. There is no reason you should be paying for garbage if they are not picking it up.”
As for the road itself, Commissioner John Crawford said there were measures that could be taken to resolve some of the problems. Crawford said with the exception of the areas that have a tendency to flood, the road was in fair shape.
“We can make bigger ditches on the right side,” Crawford said. “There are some spots we can do that in, but other than that the road is in decent shape.”
As far as flooding is concerned, Crawford said this is a problem with no quick fix solution.
“That is a flood zone down there,” Crawford said. “You can build it up, but when a big road comes it is still going to wash everything out.”
Charlie Hackworth, another resident of Landfill Road, said they understood the problem with a flood zone, but wondered if something could be done to solve this problem as well.
“We know it is a flood zone,” Hackworth said. “But we feel it can be built up to where it wont be a problem. If it is built up and the right sewage is put in there we think it can be fixed.”
Hackworth said he would like to see action on the road. He said for years commissioners have talked about plans, but he would like to see a plan put in place.
“Talking about it is good, but some action has to be done,” Hackworth said. “We can talk all day.”