More than a dozen area residents stopped for breakfast with county commissioners at The Pig Dec. 20 to discuss road conditions in western Nassau.
Commissioners George Spicer and Justin Taylor were on hand to hear concerns. Newly promoted County Manager Shanea Jones, was also in attendance. She assumes her new role Feb. 6, replacing retiring County Manager Ted Selby.
Gigi Uythoven attended the breakfast meeting. She and Dave Rowe recently moved to Nassau County from Duval. She said that Davis Road starts out as hard pan but soon turns to “sugar sand.”
She is concerned that emergency responders will be unable to navigate in the loose sand.
“We both have a vested interest in this,” Uythoven said. “We love the Callahan lifestyle – the country. We love the parade and the things they do for people.”
Uythoven was surprised with the face-to-face access she had with county officials.
“You don’t get that in Jacksonville,” she said.
The new Callahan resident added, “I love the fact that they took the time and they care enough to meet with us like this and to listen to the issues that we do have. And it seems like they’re interested enough that it will be addressed.”
Following the breakfast, the trio of county representatives observed road conditions across western Nassau. The Record accompanied them.
“My biggest thing is wanting to address these issues,” Taylor said. “Being a commissioner isn’t about sitting in a boardroom; it’s about working with the citizens to address their needs.”
Spicer drove as Taylor listened to his comments about varying conditions of Pratt-Siding Road, County Road 115, Clyatt Circle, Alice Street and areas near Kingbird Drive and Swallowfork subdivision in Callahan. Davis, Red Dirt Ridge and Lem Turner roads were also a topic of concern.
During breakfast, Nassau County School Board District 5 representative Jonathan Petree expressed concern about what he described as a blind spot on the right side at Lem Turner Road in the southbound lane near Church Road. He said that traffic volume needs addressed along the blind curve.
“There’s been a lot of wrecks out there – people have been killed,” Petree said.
He suggests adding either a caution light or turn lane from the southbound direction of Lem Turner Road.
Because the ditches along the road are high, Petree said that to avoid collisions, there is isn’t anywhere for drivers to go to avoid collisions.
“They can’t go to the left because of oncoming traffic,” he added. “That is one of the most dangerous places on the West Side.”
Plans include conducting a traffic study at the intersection of Lem Turner and Dornbush roads. The area has been the site of multiple accidents in recent years.
Taylor also received a petition from numerous residents of Nassau Oaks. The residents expressed concerns about the washboard road conditions that result in vehicle repairs. Some elderly residents said they had difficulty navigating the roads and they were also concerned about whether emergency vehicles could effectively maneuver over the dirt roads to gain access to residents’ homes. Taylor said he planned to look at the area that day. Overgrown ditches were also of concern.
The Nassau Oaks area is scheduled for a $379,500 outfall ditch cleaning within this fiscal year, Jones said.
Strewn litter and high weeds along the medians and ditches are another concern. Even after the areas are cleared, the debris mounts up as motorists discard fast food bags, plastic cups and other debris outside. Trash also flies out of the back of pickup trucks as drivers toss cans and bags from their cabs.
“It doesn’t take long for them to trash the place again,” Spicer said.
To help maintain rights-of-way and alleviate excessive overgrowth, Spicer said he suggested that county employees make two mowing passes instead of one.
The commissioner said that he has submitted a request for the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida Highway Patrol to enforce litter laws, which can result in $500 fines for violators.
Damaged culverts and narrow entrances into the shopping plaza that Winn Dixie anchors is another concern. Tractor-trailers, big trucks and cars have had axles stuck in the culvert and ditches at the shopping center.
The entrances are county-owned and maintained, according to Spicer.
Bryceville’s Ford Road needs sidewalks to help keep pedestrians out of the roadway, but funding is an issue. Discussions with new State Rep. Cord Byrd about the possibility of state funding have occurred.
Jones said the best funding opportunity would derive from grants.
County Road 108 and River Road that leads to Hilliard and St. George, Ga. is plagued with ruts, pothole and patchwork paving.
Tractor-trailers and wood chip trucks can contribute to the road’s maneuverability. Another trouble spot for residents is a neighborhood street at Split Oak Drive in Callahan’s Perrett Plantation Road area. Approximately 200 trucks a day have been hauling dirt through the neighborhood for a retention pond.
The traffic has already adversely affected driveways and culverts in the area, according to Taylor.
In Hilliard, Pratt-Siding Road is heavily traveled despite the asphalt milling and dirt that comprises the road. The road takes on a washboard effect when driving over it. Pratt-Siding and Callahan’s Bismark Road are included for road rejuvenation in the county’s dirt road stabilization program for 2017. The Road and Bridge department has allocated $200,000 for improvements countywide. Road rejuvenation to stabilize the soil for future maintenance is planned for Pratt-Siding Road from U.S. 1 to the railroad tracks. At Bismark Road, improvements will occur from Bear Run Road to Bismark’s end. Upgrades are also planned at Karnchapking Drive from C.R. 108 to its end. Repairs to Sheard Stokes Road from Rowe Avenue forward are also planned. Cynthia Avenue from Catherine Avenue to Janice Drive will receive improvements while Larsen Road from Thomas Creek to Larsen’s end will receive rejuvenation.
On the East Side, Crew Creek Avenue from Blackrock Road to Crew Creek’s end and Lang Road will be rejuvenated, according to Jones.
Clyatt Circle was recently improved with cleared ditches and road buildup to support its foundation.
“That’s a good example of what’s been done, but that’s only a few roads and more needs to be done,” Jones said.
After years of patchwork and faded striping, Hilliard’s Alice Street was recently repaved and striped with funds from the previous fiscal year, according to Jones.
Additionally, pavement management projects are slated for a half-mile section of Sandy Ford Road. The resurfacing will occur from the railroad right-of-way to the pavement’s end at U.S. 301. Estimated cost is $65,000.
Horseshoe Circle will be resurfaced from County Road 121 to the pavement’s end. The 2.5 mile project will cost about $339,500.
Lake Hampton Road will also be resurfaced from Scotts Landing Road to Murrhee Road. The project covers 2.3 miles with an estimated cost of $322,298.
However, because additional East Side projects are included in the $1.5 million allocation, county officials would need $162,731 in cost savings to do the project in 2016-17, according to information from Jones.
Four West Side dirt roads will received asphalt millings as part of the county’s asphalt millings program. Mt. Olive Road from Lessie Road to Mt. Olive’s end will be improved at an estimated cost of $18,181.
Henderson Road from Lessie Road to Henderson’s end will receive asphalt millings at an estimated cost of $19,464 while R. Jones Road in Callahan from County Road 115 to R. Jones’ end will be improved at an estimated cost of $17,218, according to information from Jones.