Residents of Christian County have taken to social media, voicing displeasures and frustrations about road conditions following last weekend’s winter blast through the southeastern portion of the United States.
In response to calls and concerns, Judge-Executive Jerry Gilliam issued a public statement Wednesday — calling this the “worst winter weather event experienced in years.”
To date, Gilliam said more than 500 tons of salt has been spread across the county, and another order has been placed and set to arrive next week.
However, extremely frigid temperatures, especially in the evening and overnight hours, has made road conditions more than difficult, and Gilliam believes Wednesday and Thursday night could be more difficult than earlier this week.
Furthermore, progress on state and city roads, he added, has been “slow” — noting that the southern portion of Christian County received a “spot on” weather prediction, and more ice than the rest of District 2 and west Kentucky altogether.
City, county and state officials, he said, got a “lot of progress” Wednesday, with 60% of county roads “showing pavement.”
Sunshine, he said, was offering the most impact, but patience has been “wearing thin” across the community. He said he understands, and has voiced thoughts with and sought solutions from Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 2.
Among the state’s largest counties, Hopkinsville, Pembroke, Oak Grove and Crofton are part of a 488-mile county road network, and that does not include I-169, I-24 and other state lanes.
Certain parts of the county, he said, do require a lot more effort than just a classic scraper.
One rumor going around, he added, is that counties receive state incentives for conserving salt stores. This, he said, couldn’t be further from the truth.
In fact, Gilliam said KYTC officials have simply asked for local and regional employees to avoid salting ditches, because that’s fruitless and doesn’t help with roadways and ensuing snow and ice piles.
Gilliam also wanted to give a shout out to Mindy Hargrove and the BBQ Shack, who spent this past weekend making sure road crews were well fed.
Following Tuesday’s postponement, Christian County Fiscal Court will convene in special session at 1 PM Thursday, with weather and road conditions among top subjects to be discussed.
