Tentative deal struck to keep road to Atlanta open

Thursday, December 26, 2013
Keeping the roads open to Atlanta in the winter is not easy once it begins to snow in the mountains.

A tentative deal between Boise and Elmore counties is expected to alleviate a possible shutdown of service involving the primary winter road leading into the Atlanta community.

During a special meeting held Dec. 18 at the state capital, commissioners from both counties agreed to provide funding to keep Arrowrock Road open through the winter.

The issue focuses on the 28-mile stretch of the unpaved road that runs through Boise County. Once it reaches the western border of Elmore County, the remaining 10 miles of road leading into Atlanta become the responsibility of the Atlanta Highway District.

During the winter, the mountain community has roughly 35 residents.

Problems with Arrowrock Road began in November when Boise County commissioners announced they would no longer maintain the portion of the road that is within its borders, citing budget cuts.

"Boise County feels that they cannot afford to take care of that road... to take care of Elmore County residents," said Elmore County Commissioner Bud Corbus.

Calls made by the Mountain Home News to members of the Boise County board of commissioners were not returned as of press time.

The Atlanta Highway District had maintained a contract with Boise County for the past 18 years for winter maintenance on the Boise County portion of road. However, Corbus said the level of financial support from Boise County has gradually fallen over the years.

The funding from Boise County represents a significant amount of the Atlanta Highway District's budget, said Alan Lake, chairman of the Atlanta Highway Commission. Without that money, the highway district would've essentially been out of business, Lake said.

While that road doesn't provide direct service to Boise County residents, Corbus contends it was legally obligated to maintain it.

"They have been paid by the state... they received the dollars to take care of that road," he said.

According to the commissioner, the decision by Boise County essentially shut that road down, adding that they "basically abandoned the road."

Corbus added that it wasn't Elmore County's job to use its own tax dollars to maintain a road in another county.

"But we have a responsibility to see that the residents of Atlanta are taken care of," he said. In short, he said, all it would take is one snow storm and everything going into and out of Atlanta would come to a screeching halt.

"You can't leave the residents of Atlanta landlocked like that," Corbus said. "I can't do that in good conscious, and the Elmore County commissioners can't do that. These people need to have emergency services, to be able to get to medical appointments, they have to get mail, they have to get fuel... to take care of themselves."

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Highway District lacks the financial resources to run its equipment through Boise County. It would financially "break" them, Corbus said.

James Creek Road is the secondary road that services the Atlanta area, but it's only open from July to late September, depending on the severity of the winter weather, Lake said. Even under ideal conditions when the road is clear, it's very steep and dangerous to drive.

Most of the year, people need snowmobiles to drive down that mountain road, Lake said.

With no funding and winter weather looming, the highway district was pursuing options to keep at least part of the road open to residents. The first involved plowing a seven-mile stretch of road to the turnoff into Prairie that would've opened up an alternate route out of the mountains.

"That was not an attractive option," Lake said.

As a worst-case scenario, the other option meant the residents of Atlanta would've remained landlocked for months, which was equally unacceptable, he added.

Seeking to resolve the issue between both counties, State Sen. Bert Brackett, who serves Elmore County, facilitated the meeting at the state capital. In addition to commissioners from both counties, members of the Atlanta Highway District were included in these talks.

Under the tentative agreement reached at the Dec. 18 meeting, Elmore County would provide $10,000 in funding with Boise County providing a matching amount specifically for snow removal.

Lake emphasized that only time will tell if those funds will be enough. While the district is seeing very little in terms of winter weather, the district could run into issues if that part of the state gets blanketed by heavy snowfall over the next couple of months.

A long-term solution is in the works, the senator said. The current proposal involves an amendment to state law that, in essence, "detaches" that road and makes it no longer the responsibility of Boise County.

In return, state and federal money used to maintain that section of road would go to the Atlanta Highway District.

Brackett expects that state lawmakers will take up the bill when they reconvene in mid-January.

If it passes, the measure would take effect immediately.

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