Putnam County -
Last Thursday (August 9th), the effort of residents to get a referendum on the Road 5 widening, was shot down by the Putnam County Board of Elections. Today, the Road 5 project is underway.
With more trucks driving up and down Road 5, officials began to discuss how to make the road safer. A resident on Road 5 for the past 34 years, George Daniel completely forgot about the idea until it became the main topic of conversation. With trucks speeding by his home, Daniel says widening the road will make it unsafe for residents. "You give them (the truckers) a flatter, wider and straighter road, they're not going to slow down, they're going to go faster," said Daniel.
County commissioners claim to be in the middle of all of this and say, in the end, it all comes down to safety. However, Road 5 resident Bill Weise believes that safety is misplaced, as it's more of a concern for the safety of truck drivers, and not the residents of Road 5. Weise made this statement after stating that there will only be 14 feet between his front door and the road after the project is completed.
To date, new drainage systems have been installed and new telephone poles are going up every day.
Upset, residents say they will continue to fight against the Road 5 project till the end. The lawsuit that many residents have filed against Putnam County remains at a stand still as the county continues to change Road 5.
