A new truck ordinance is in effect following the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners meeting last week.
The ordinance restricts which roads that trucks with more than six wheels, recreational vehicles and charter buses will be allowed on, unless the vehicle’s trip originates or ends on the road, or the truck is making a delivery on that road.
“Neither myself, the BOC or the Sheriff’s department are trying to make things more difficult for the trucking industry,” BOC Chairman Jay Paul said. “But, at the same time, residents are concerned for their safety when tractor-trailer rigs are traveling roads that they should not be on in the first place.”
The ordinance came about after several examples of truckers taking short cuts on county roads, which are not meant to handle heavy truck traffic and have led to more frequent repairs for those roads.
“The current ordinance makes it legal for these guys who live in the county and have businesses here to drive wherever they want to and take a short cut any which way they want to, which is tearing up roads,” Oglethorpe County Sheriff David Gabriel said. “The whole purpose of the ordinance to start with is to save these roads.”
Also, the county had a rash of truck accidents in 2023 and early last year.
Large granite blocks were thrown from trailers in accidents in July and October of 2023, and in January, 2024, two trucks overturned on the same day, one on Saxon Mattox Road and the other on Lexington-Carlton Road.
The next day, another 18-wheeler overturned in the same spot on Saxon Mattox Road.
All of the roads on the list will be marked with “No Thru Trucks” signs at the end of each road and at intersections with the roads.
Gabriel said common sense will be applied to the enforcement of the ordinance.
“If you’re in Sandy Cross and you’re hauling granite, we’re not going to mess with you, because we know you’re going from quarry to quarry,” Gabriel said. “But if you’re over here on Arnoldsville Road hauling granite, we have some questions. It’s doing more damage to roads than it needs to.”
The BOC unanimously approved the truck ordinance, with District 4 Commissioner Will Brown adding an amendment that Old Edwards Road be added to the original list.
Violating the truck traffic ordinance will be punishable by $1,000 fine or up to 60 days in jail. Every offense is a separate violation.
“When these county roads are unnecessarily destroyed, the taxpayer is left holding the bag,” Paul said. “We are trying our best to prevent this from happening.”