PELL CITY — Heavy truck traffic is causing damage to Pell City roads.

“The sheer number of loads coming through is causing damage,” Police Chief Greg Turley said.

Turley said he recently gave the City Council an overview of the situation and what was being done to minimize the damage.

“Street Department superintendent Mike Martin and I are working with the contractor and the state,” he said.

Turley said the Street Department was working with the state to repair Cogswell Avenue (U.S. 78) Wednesday. Heavy trucks moving chert from the Eden area to U.S. 231 where the new Publix is being built are contributing to the damage.

“When the trucks make a 90 degree turn, the tires on one side of the truck slide on the asphalt, which causes wear on the asphalt,” he said.

Turley said three E’s, education, engineering and enforcement, should help with the problem.

“The trucks’ tires sliding on the asphalt is an engineering problem,” he said. “By varying the streets they ride on, it should help spread out the wear and prevent some of the damage.”

Turley said the Police Department has monitored the speeds the trucks travel.

“They aren’t speeding,” he said.

Turley said a city ordinance limits the amount of weight the trucks can carry to 8,000 pounds per axle.

“The developers are doing self-policing, and are weighing some of the trucks themselves to ensure compliance,” he said. “And one developer is pitching in to help with the repairs.”

Turley said the dump trucks hauling chert are not solely responsible for the damage.

“There are some 18-wheelers that are bypassing the truck route,” he said. “We are going to improve the signage and do hard enforcement on that.”

Turley said downtown Pell City is not wide enough to safely accommodate large trucks.

“The law is there for the safety of the citizens, drivers and trucks,” he said.

Turley said the truck route goes behind the downtown area south of Cogswell Avenue between Cogswell Avenue and the railroad tracks.

“After speaking with the mayor and developers and building inspector (Paul Story), we would like any large development that would require a lot of heavy equipment traffic to meet with the police chief and his designee during the permit process and have a plan set up to comply with the city ordinances and minimize any adverse impact on traffic and roadways,” he said.

Turley said the idea for the consultation came from the developers.

“We are looking for a better way to do this,” he said. “The more we can work together, the better we can serve our citizens. The citizens deserve that.”

Turley said as Pell City grows, this is one example of the “growing pains” that come with that growth.

“Change is coming,” he said. “We have to work with it.”

Turley said the goal is to work out the issues on the front end.

“The easier you can make it, the better it is for the community,” he said. “And these are flexible plans, which we will change if necessary to protect our streets and make sure traffic is safe.”

Contact Elsie Hodnett at ehodnett@dailyhome.com