Bill King, in his last visit with Allen County commissioners as director of Public Works, proposed Monarch Cement Co. be permitted to have haul trucks carry shale through Humboldt.
County planners recommended Thursday evening Monarch be given an exception from agricultural zoning to mine a 30-foot shelf of shale from land it owns 2 1/2 miles north of Humboldt. The vein is projected to be sufficient for Monarch production for 60 years. However, the planners did not attach a route for trucks hauling the material to their recommendation, rather left that up to commissioners.
King pointed out the route he favored — old U.S. 169 — was over what once was a federal highway “built at different standards than county roads,” meaning its structure was sufficient to carry the heavily loaded trucks. As for the portion in Humboldt: “That’s our road,” King pointed out. “Humboldt has done work to it and we’ve helped,” but in the end if it needed repair that would fall to the county.
Proposals for haul trucks to use K-224, which connects old 169 from the north edge of Humboldt to U.S. 169 and then south and back to Monarch’s plant by way of Tank Farm Road would put the onus solely on Humboldt if much of K-224 had to be repaired. “Humboldt owns it to the (old) railroad crossing,” King noted.
“The old highway could be a little wider, but the right of way is what it is,” he said, even so that didn’t cause King to waver from recommending it as the route best suited for haul trucks to follow.
Monarch building its own access road also is an advantage, which would keep its contracted trucks off Iowa Road, a county road surfaced with rock and more susceptible to damage from heavy traffic, he said.
“We’ll have to approve whatever Monarch does” at its road’s intersection with the old highway, King said, giving the county input. He thinks it will include a curve of sorts to accommodate 18-wheel transports. And, that it will be about halfway between Iowa Road and Humboldt Hill. King said line of sight and other safety considerations should be more than adequate.
In sum, “I think what they’re proposing is right,” King said. “If they were talking about 500 18-wheelers a day, it would be different, but they’re not.” Monarch representatives told planners they anticipated 10 truck an hour, eight hours or so a day and three days a week on the average.
As for whether Monarch had contributed financially to maintenance of roads it uses, King said that was the case though he didn’t have immediate statement of proof. “They have contributed many times,” including overlay of Tank Farm Road that carries trucks from quarries east of Humboldt. “What happened,” as he remembered it, “Monarch paid directly to the contractor, us two-thirds and them one-third,” without it being reflected on county records.
Commissioners Jerry Daniels and Tom Williams also mentioned it would be difficult to keep Monarch, or anyone else, from using a public road. As for putting restrictions on public roads, “that’s opening a can of worms that has no bottom to it,” Daniels said.
County commissioners discuss Monarch request
