The Cole County Commission on Tuesday approved changes to the county's traffic safety code to restrict use of commercial vehicles on specific roads.
The changes were recommended by the county's Traffic and Safety Advisory Board.
"Tanner Bridge Road and some roads in Osage City are seeing heavy tractor-trailer trucks inadvertently traveling on these roads to get to destinations," County Engineer Eric Landwehr said. "On Tanner Bridge Road, truckers are going to Meta to Diamond Dog Food, and in Osage City they are using Route J to try and make deliveries at the Jefferson City Correctional Center.
"Google Maps sends them down county roads as the quickest way, but these roads aren't designed for this and it is causing some safety concerns," Landwehr continued. "We found that our traffic safety code did not address commercial vehicles, so the first step to restricting them is to update the code. The next step, at a later date, will be to draft a court order with the specific language to restrict the trucks. It will include things such as weight limits on roads."
The commission approved updating the code to restrict commercial vehicles in these area.
The commission also approved a fine of $500 to be in place for commercial vehicle drivers found to violate this code, as well as a potential jail sentence of up to three months.
The language would exempt commercial vehicles making local deliveries in these areas, Landwehr said.
Landwehr also said the safety board looked at placing "no parking" on part of Castle Rock Drive.
"We are going to table this for a few weeks to allow notification to residents in the area that there will be a public hearing to discuss this," Landwehr said. "This item addresses the parking of junk vehicles and equipment as well as trailers and boats at the end of the road in the cul-de-sac. This equipment makes it difficult for a school bus or larger vehicle to turn around."