SCOTT COUNTY COMMISSION HEARS COMPLAINTS ON BRIDGE

BENTON -- Two Oran area farmers told the Scott County Commission Tuesday that hundreds of acres are inaccessible because of a bridge with a three-ton limit.

One of the farmers, Gary Kesler said there is "no way in or out" because of the limit on the bridge that crosses a ditch on County Road 418 about four miles southwest of Oran.

He said farmers can't take a large truck or equipment over the bridge without being afraid of the bridge falling in. He said some large cars or pickups even weigh more than three tons.

Kesler, a member of the Scott County Central Board of Education, said he has about 80 acres in the area. He estimated more than 1,000 acres are inaccessible without crossing someone else's land or the low-limit bridge.

K.M. Streeter has 160 acres in the closed-off area. He said he has some farmers driving across his land to get to the land they own or farm to avoid the bridge.

Terry Herndon, director of the Scott County Highway Department, said there was a priority on condemned bridges in the county. He said there are six bridges that should be closed under state guidelines.

The bridge on County Road 418 crosses one of the large ditches owned by the Little River Drainage District.

Herndon said the district has not been willing to allow culverts to be put in those ditches because the water flow would be impeded. That means more expensive bridges have to be built across those ditches and the county has little money to spare for that, he said.