County Roads: Maintenance & Responsibilities

October 2024 | Eric Jennings, Lawrence County Commissioner Opinion Editorial, Black Hills Pioneer

Roads are often the first thing people think of when considering the responsibilities of the county.  Rightfully so; they are used by everyone and the road and bridge department make up a large portion of the counties annual budget. Not all roads in Lawrence County are controlled and maintained by the county. The US and state highways are the responsibility of the SD State Department of Transportation. We also have roads within the city limits of our towns that are maintained by the county and the county has agreements to maintain short distances of neighboring counties roads, this is to allow both counties to make a loop when plowing snow instead of a dead-head route. The county also has agreements to provide maintenance on Forest Service (FS) roads. These agreements specify the amount of maintenance to be performed, which is often less than the county performs on its own roads. The county has had several requests to take over responsibility of FS roads from homeowners who travel them to access their property. The county assuming control of FS roads isn’t as simple as just blading the road a few extra times a year. The FS roads were often built for limited access and hauling commodities such as logs from the forest. Those limited uses have much different specifications than a county road that needs to have a 66 foot right of way (ROW) and withstand heavier traffic use. When the county assumes responsibility for a FS road, we often need to do extensive work to bring the road up to county specifications. This can involve removing trees from the right-of-way and reclaiming or building ditches along the road. Road ditches are important to have to get moisture of the road and as far enough away from the road as possible to protect the road. That is also why roads have a crown in the middle instead of being flat, to get the moisture off.  Sometimes the road itself needs to be widened for safety. There are also occasionally concerns about trees shading the road and drainage issues. Addressing these issues involves agreements for easements from the FS so the county can work within the ROW, plus it represents a significant cost to the county to take on more miles of roads.  

Tinton Road receives a lot of use from homeowners, recreationalists, and timber contractors.  Anyone who has traveled it knows of the poor condition it is often in. The County decided last spring to assume maintenance responsibilities for the north 4 miles of the Tinton Road. Many of you are anxious for the county to improve the road and are wondering what the status on it is. The FS was able to secure a grant to help pay for the majority of the costs of the county initially taking over the road.  We are currently working through the process to transfer that grant to the county and receive the necessary agreements and easements from the FS to allow the county to do the work necessary to properly maintain the road. We are hoping to complete the agreements, transfers and complete the road work on Tinton in 2025.  For that to be completed in 2025 will require all of the pieces to fall into place early enough in the year for the county crews to be able to fit the work into their schedule. 

Rest assured; we are working toward meeting the 2025 timeline.