Folks in Three Forks who live off Airport Road say their drive to and from home is feeling a little turbulent lately and something needs to be done to fix it.
“The kids I worry about because if they hit that going really fast, it could kill them,” said Susan Foreman.
Foreman has lived in her home off Airport Road since 1999. Lately she’s hit a rough patch with the Gallatin Road and Bridge Department over the bumpy condition of the road.
“Normally they would come out, blade it, and it would straighten it up,” said Foreman. “But this year is the worst, it’s just down to the subgrade in some places.”
Foreman says the improper maintenance poses threats to her, her neighbors, and anyone passing through.
“There’s places that are just impossible for a small car to go over,” said Foreman. “I have a Prius.”
Foreman says she has to swerve into the ditch to avoid damaging her car, something that isn’t an uncommon occurrence while driving down Airport Road.
“I found a fender well in the road,” said Foreman.
Another concern of Foreman’s is the speed limit.
“The speed limit right now is 70 miles per hour and we’ve got teenagers that’ll run up and down this road, kids that are on dirt bikes, ATVs and it’s just not safe,” she said.
In April, Foreman contacted the Gallatin Road and Bridge Department.
“I didn’t get anything back,” she said.
I contacted them via email, and they messaged back this response:
“We understand the public’s frustrations when their roads aren’t meeting their expectations. With the amount of roads, we are entrusted to maintain, we are constrained by budgets, manpower and available materials. There are no plans to rebuild the gravel section of Three Forks Airport Road at this time.”
Foreman says that isn’t cutting it.
“This road has been deteriorating for years and if they don’t take care of it it’ll keep getting worse,” said Foreman.
The county does have a speed limit petition process where residents can petition the county commissioners to set limits where they don’t exist.
