Enforcement of the truck route to the Knox Industrial Park is creating headaches for at least one local over-the-road driver. Robert Clary of Knox attended last week’s city council meeting to express his frustration with not being able to use Culver Road to access the Knox Industrial Park.
The marked truck route uses State Road 8 to 300 East/Klockner Drive to get to and from the park. The Starke County Economic Development Foundation recently spent money to update the proprietary GPS systems used by over-the-road truck drivers to add both the Knox and North Judson truck routes. Clary says his in-dash GPS updates constantly, yet it does not reflect the preferred truck route to Knox Fertilizer.
Many truckers were turning by Kem-Co and using 200 South to come in from the south or turning off of U.S. 35 onto Toto Road and taking it to 300 East. The county has since put up signs prohibiting those practices due to wear and tear on those roads.
Clary says the Norfolk Southern tracks north of the industrial park are often blocked for extended periods of time due to trains switching. He says he recently sat for one hour and 23 minutes in that location, and noted he’s limited to 14 hours of driving per day.
Clary also raised concerns about the capacity of the Yellow River bridge to handle truck traffic, especially if two semis meet.
Mayor Dennis Estok says the city has no control over the county’s truck route and suggested Clary talk to the county about his concerns. He did reiterate his intent to enforce the no truck route on Culver Road.
