The saga of dealing with dust issue
s on rural gravel roads continues in eastern Allegan County.
Hopkins Township, which has taken the unusual step of eliminating dust control treatments this year altogether, received plenty of information Monday evening from Paul Bolthouse, a constituent who apparently has done plenty of research on the subject.
Noting that he doe
s not have a farm in the township, Bolthouse told Hopkins Township Board members, “I don’t have a lot of skin in this game,” but wondered what options there are for controlling dust in dry summer months.
He said the options include doing nothing or applying calcium chloride, magnesium chloride, a tree sap organic product or a soy-based product. All have pros and cons, but the soy product is by far the most expensive.
Hopkins Township officials, with Supervisor Mark Evans casting the lone dissenting vote, two months ago voted to dispense with applying the customary calcium chloride application, which was done last year for about $12,000 by Southwest Dust Control out of Bloomingdale. The reason was that many residents, particularly farmers, have complained the solution is corrosive to vehicles and farm equipment and machinery.
Bolthouse said a U.S. Department of Transportation study maintained that gravel roads getting at least one dust control application annually cost less in maintenance.
Some, like neighboring Watson Township Supervisor Pam Brown, insist dust control is necessary because of safety and health issues. Motorists who cannot see because of dust kicked up are hampered as badly as if they are driving in fog. And this is not to mention the potential health problems of dust getting into peoples’ lungs.
Bolthouse said it is possible for the township to incur liability in the event of some kind of traffic disaster that can be determined to have been caused by lack of dust control.
Ken Bell of Shelbyville said, “If the safety issue is big enough, they should consider lowering the speed limit (on gravel roads). I invite Mr. Bolthouse to come look at the roads near where I live to see what dust can do to roadsides.”
Evans said he invited Bolthouse to speak to the board because he had e-mailed him a lot of information about dust control.
Bolthouse told board members, “My main impetus (for coming to the meeting is to share what I found in my research.”
The Township Board later in the meeting approved road projects for the coming summer season, including the customary gravel work, chip and seal on bridges and cluverts on 20th Street and 133rd Avenue and a fog coat and chip-seal on 130th Avenue from 22nd to 24th streets.
PHOTO: Paul Bolthouse
