Roads bogged down in mud, County gets complaints

SEDGWICK COUNTY, Kan. (KSNW) — Living along a country road can be a challenge after rain, ice, snow, and a deep freeze. Drivers are left with slick mud, ruts, and potholes, too numerous to count.

The conditions are bad enough on some Sedgwick County rural roads that some residents of Salem Township, south of Wichita, reached out to KSN News for help.

They say the roads are so bumpy and muddy that their vehicles almost end up in the ditches. One person who has lived in the Salem Township for 20 years says it has never been this bad before.

One person shared a picture of a Derby school bus stuck in the mud last Wednesday. She said it happened at 84th Street South.

“I feel sorry for the kids on the buses being bounced all around from these roads,” she said. “They have no seat belts to keep them secure. The roads are absolutely horrible.”

Another resident said that even four-wheel drive vehicles have trouble navigating the roads.

Sedgwick County says it has also heard the complaints.

“Gravel roads are definitely in bad shape right now, but it`s not isolated to one county, township, or municipality,” Lynn Packer, Sedgwick County Public Works director, said.

Experts blame the problem on the rain and snow followed by an Arctic blast. They say the roads froze, then thawed under rainy conditions, making roads turn soft.

“This brutal combination of weather has left most of the gravel roads in its path in poor condition,” Packer said. “These are not unheard of weather conditions, but it has been some time since we have dealt with it to this degree.”

There are more than 1,000 miles of gravel roads in the county’s unincorporated areas. Sedgwick County is only responsible for maintaining 20 miles of them.

The 26 township governments maintain the other 980 miles plus local subdivision roads.

Packer said the maintenance problems are the same with all the rural roads, regardless of who is in charge.

“Despite the best efforts of road crews earlier in the month, the recent weather conditions have not been conducive to ordinary gravel road maintenance activities,” he said. “This is because the frost coming out of the ground is mixing with precipitation, creating a muddy surface that worsens with excessive traffic or heavy vehicles.”

He said heavy grading equipment can worsen muddy roads, and putting more gravel on at the wrong time can hinder conditions, making it harder for the road to dry out.

“Therefore, all the gravel roads throughout the area need time to dry out,” Packer said. “Thankfully, the current weather forecast suggests improved road conditions should be on the horizon with less precipitation and more sunny days ahead.”

A KSN News photojournalist visited the Salem Township around noon on Monday. He said the roads were still muddy then, but he did see several township trucks working on the roads.

We spoke to Laura Adkins, the township clerk. She said any of the roads that had limestone have deteriorated.

She said trucks were delivering road gravel Monday to help the situation.

Adkins also said the township graders were working on the roads, and the township hired an additional crew to help. Adkins said the grading should be finished by the end of the week.

Packer told KSN News that some of the damage around the county would take more than a simple pass of a motor grader.

“It will take a lot of effort and time to complete the work,” he said. “Please be patient.”

We asked if Sedgwick County ever offers to help townships with maintenance in situations like this.

“County Public Works is currently concentrating its efforts on our own gravel roads,” Packer said. “We haven’t been able to maintain them for several weeks now. The sunny weather this weekend dried some roads out enough that we have started to reshape and grade them as of today.”