Manitowoc County towns and agricultural producers are looking for a solution to help them get their products to Highway 151.
The issue stems from parts of West Washington Street and Marken Road being classified as a Class B Road heading toward 151.
The class designation means there’s a weight limit, and trucks or tractors with agricultural products can’t drive on the road. All ag transportation must head toward the Town of Cato and doesn’t allow them a direct route to Highway 151.
Country Visions Cooperative held a meeting with agricultural groups at their grain elevator in Valders to share ideas on how to address the issue of fixing the roads so they are not classified as Class B.
CP Feeds General Manager Mark Cullen says the road designation has affected his business.
“That’s increased our charges for suppliers bringing, that would normally be coming from the south, between $50 to $100 a load,” he explained. “And it increases our miles and time to make deliveries to the south. And fuel, it costs us about $100,000 annually.”
Safety on the road is also a concern for workers, including Country Visions Cooperative Grain Division Manager Brad Jaeger.
“Vehicles are backed up on the road waiting to dump grain, and now we’re trying to get traffic into these businesses around those lines on the road,” he described. “That could be a very messy situation.”
Paul Fontecchio with the engineering firm Robert E. Lee and Associates says that, with Marken Road getting as much truck traffic as it does, it should be completely redone.
But it does come with a steep price.
He told the crowd, “The north is about $1.5 million is what I’ve estimated and to the south to (Highway) 151 is about $1.25 million. It’s not cheap. It’s a full reconstruct. You’re tearing everything out and rebuilding it.”
The good news is that the project could qualify for state funding like the Agricultural Road Infrastructure Program or ARIP as well as LRIP or the Local Road Improvement Project.
The programs provide funding from the state to provide access to agricultural lands or facilities.
However, the earliest a town or village could get the funding would be in two years.
State Senator Andre Jacque was in Valders at the meeting to hear from constituents about the road problems.
He says that he’s been an advocate for town road funding, but support from the community will help.
“I realize that the state needs to play a role in this, which is why wanted to help bring some people together,” he admitted. “I don’t want to scapegoat anybody in this. I think this is tremendous that we has all of you come in and spend some time in the afternoon to try to come together and see if there is some other way that we could work this through.”
Communities also discussed road closures and projects that they’ve worked on previously.
While the meeting didn’t end with a definitive answer to their issue, it’s the first time that ag groups came together to talk about the challenge on the road.
Another meeting has not been announced.
