by Alex Brooks
Although the headline news in Petersburgh is about the CEO, most of the people who came to the May meeting had something else on their minds – dust. [private]Because it has been so dry for the last month, cleaning the winter sand off the roads without creating massive dust clouds has been a difficult task. Dust coming from the roads over the last month has some residents up in arms demanding a solution to the perennial problem.
County Highway Superintendent Scott Gallerie was at the meeting, because many of the paved roads in Town where dust is a problem are County Roads that are maintained by the Town. Petersburgh Highway Superintendent Rob Cottrell said he had asked Gallerie to come so he could answer questions and share his knowledge.
Bill Alston, who lives near the intersection of Dayfoot and Hill Hollow Roads, said a group of people who are worried about the dust met the week before to seek solutions to the problem. He said they don’t want to blame or yell at anyone – they want to make sure the Town changes its practices so that this won’t happen next year.
Scott Gallerie had a number of answers for them. The first was that the roads should be swept earlier, at the beginning of April, when people’s windows are closed and the roads haven’t dried out as much. He said he had a problem getting a sweeper here in April, and the sweeper didn’t arrive until May 2. He promised to get a sweeper here earlier next year.
Another was to use computerized sanding equipment. He said the mechanical systems the Town is using now, which run off the speed of the engine, are very hard to control, and tend to put down too much material. He said computerized rigs are able to get the job done with about 1/3 as much material. He has suggested that the Town buy one of the County trucks, which has a computerized sander on it, so they can put down less material during the winter, so there is less to clean up in the spring.
He also recommended using washed sand. He said the really bad dust comes from the fine, clay-like particles in the sand. Washed sand has less of the fine particles in it. It is more expensive, but he pointed out that material used by the Town to treat County roads is fully reimbursed by the County, so the extra cost of the washed sand would be borne by the County, not the town.
Gallerie said he recommends treating the roads with a 50-50 mix of salt and washed sand.
Margaret Alston said she hopes such practices will be implemented, and went on to emphasize the gravity of the problem. “We are buried in this dust. We know that this is causing long term health problems. It’s gone on too long. People are getting sick.”[/private]