County Struggles With Rock, Gravel Shortage

By Gordon HopkinsJefferson County was seeing a shortage of rock and gravel even before being walloped by the three major winter storms in January of 2024. Cleaning up after those severe snow storms only exacerbated the problem. Road crews worked 16 hours days and longer and snow removal left many road with little to no gravel and rock. Then melting snow turned those roads into mud.Terry Blas of the Jefferson County Highway Department reported to County Commissioners on Tuesday, February 6, that department is having to travel farther and farther to find find rock and gravel, “We ran Beatrice out.” Commissioner Mark Schoenrock asked, “How long will it take them to replenish?”Blas said, “As many people are hauling out of there? A couple of years. We’re hauling out of Weeping Water yet. At three trucks running, you can get, maybe, two loads apiece a day. Maybe.”Schoenrock said, “So, we don’t really have an idea of what we’ll be able to get rock again.”Jefferson is not the only county struggling. Schoenrock hopes that, “Our citizens understand what the situation is with gravel and rock. Because everybody is screaming for it, not just Jefferson County.” The county does have a stockpile of rock but it will be used up quickly and the county will have to prioritize route. Blas said, “We got what we got in the yard. And you know, we’ve been kind of holding off and saving that for school bus routes. You know, school bus routes come first.”“I think that’s right. So, I’m sorry, but the cows and the calves aren’t first,” Commissioner Michael Dux, himself a farmer, concurred.

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