Heavy Discussion Of Oversized Transports In Mercer County
An oversized load on Carnarvon Highway, Queensland, Australia, in May 2021. Image: Kgbo via Wikimedia Commons.
Robert Moore
Herald Staff
[email protected]
A resident discussed recent oversized transports moving through the county with the Mercer County Fiscal Court.
Natalie Gray approached the fiscal court about the issue at their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 14. Gray brought up two transports of oversized equipment transported through Mercer County on U.S. 68 last week on Monday and Thursday. Gray said part of the guardrails were torn apart and a section of the road shoulder had collapsed after the transport Monday. She said road crews had repaired those issues.
Gray said the transports impacted traffic on U.S. 68 from the Kentucky River to Shakertown. She said there were approximately hundred cars backed up on Thursday.
Gray told the court that she’d had a chance to talk to the escort and was told transportation officials had run it through a computer which came up with three possible route choices, but the first two had declined. Gray said she’d been told that U.S. 127 had been turned down by transportation officials.
“There are a lot of alternatives,” Gray said.
Magistrate Tim Darland said three over-sized trucks had come through the same area on Sunday.
Judge-Executive Sarah Steele said the county had not been informed. Steele said it was not the first time. The judge said another oversized load got stuck on the Jessamine County side of the river in the past month.
“We were not notified,” Steele said. “They don’t call every county they’re going to go through.”
Steele said she is concerned about the possibility of emergency vehicles being caught in the traffic during one of the transports.
She said the Kentucky Department of Highways District 7 has reached out to the county in the past, especially about road repairs. The judge said one of the reason the state made repairs so quickly to damage caused by one of the oversized transports is because they were already in the area.
“They were already scheduled to do the roadwork there,” Steele said. “They were already in the area to blacktop due to the flooding.”
The judge said Mercer County has not been receiving information recently on oversized transports.
Sheriff Ernie Kelty was out fishing Sundays and didn’t receive any messages until he was off the river.
Kelty said he was going to let the state know, “What a bind they was putting us in.”
“I don’t even know why they’d want to go through there,” Magistrate Darland said of oversized vehicles navigating the tight curves at the Mercer-Jessamine County line.
There has been considerable discussion of the recent transports on social media. Readers have reached out to the Harrodsburg Herald about it. Most seem unclear why the machinery wasn’t routed onto an interstate, although Darland, who said he’s looked into it, noted that sections of Interstate 64 and the Bluegrass Parkway are being repaired.
Magistrate Susan Barrington said she’s had numerous people reach out to her about the issue.
“Is it legal?” Barrington asked.
Drive.ky.gov has a section dedicated to permitting for oversized—the official terminology is overweight/over-dimensional transports—including maps and route lists for state and federally maintained roadways. The website also allows people to apply for one-time or annual permits. Routes need to be verified before any movement, according to state regulations. The Harrodsburg Herald reached out to KYTC via email but had not received a response by press time.
It should be also noted that some of the oversized transports are for projects here in Mercer County, including at least two transports for ongoing utility work near the Corning facility here in Harrodsburg.
On Tuesday, the fiscal court also approved an $80,981 allocation to carry the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office through first the payroll of November.
A group of Mercer County residents—James Milton Fyffe of Harrodsburg, William Steven Marshall of Salvisa and Wanda Cowan Burgin of Harrodsburg—are circulating a petition to force a special election to recall the Mercer County School District’s tax rate. They have until Oct. 19 to collect the 1,006 signatures necessary to force the recall election.
This year, taxpayers will receive two tax bills: one for all the county taxing districts except the schools and another one for the schools.
According to the school district, of the 71.6 cents per $100 in assessed value, only 1.1 cents is subject to recall. If the recall is successful, the personal property rate will default from 71.6 cents to 71.9 cents per $100 in accessed value. The real estate would decrease 1.1 cents, from 71.6 cents per $100 in assessed value to 70.5 cents in assessed value.
If the recall is successful, it is unclear when the election would be. Possible dates include May 2026, when Kentucky holds its primaries, or in November 2026, when the next general election is scheduled.
The sheriff’s office, which is supported in part by revenue it receives collecting taxes, will need financial support from the county until the issue is resolved.
