By BRAD GASKINS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA – The Shelby County Commission adopted a resolution March 28 to begin establishing a non-exclusive truck route for use by White Rock Quarries in Vincent.

Segments of Shelby County roads 62, 85 and 463 will be affected.

The truck route will start at the intersection of Shelby County 62 and U.S. 280, run east along 62 to the intersection of Shelby County 463. It would then turn left and run north along 463 to the intersection of Shelby County 85, then turn right and run south along 85 to the quarry’s main entrance.

White Rock will pay for an estimated $4.5 million in upgrades to the existing roads. About 85 trucks per day are expected to use the route.

The resolution was adopted by a 7-0 vote, with Commissioner Lindsey Allison abstaining. Commissioner Jon Parker was absent from the meeting.

The commission tabled the resolution during its March 14 meeting to give commissioners extra time to consider alternative routes.

Prior to voting Monday night, commissioners added an amendment to the resolution.

“The approval of the truck route will become invalid in the event that the quarry at the Vincent location fails to open as the result of a court ruling or failure of the quarry to obtain the necessary environmental permits,” the amendment reads.

The amendment was added at the request Trip Galloway, an attorney who represents Anne Bates Gibbons, who owns land in Vincent. Gibbons filed a lawsuit about a year ago to block the quarry from opening and operating on about 1,000 acres of land in Vincent.

Several residents of Vincent and Harpersville were present to voice opposition to the proposed truck route.

Harpersville Mayor Theoangelo Perkins said he wasn’t opposed to a truck route to the quarry, but that any route shouldn’t include Highway 62.

Attorney Rob Fowler, who represents White Rock, reminded commissioners that they were not voting for or against the quarry in general, only for the truck route. The route is the “shortest and safest” of all possible routes,” he said.

With the resolution adopted, White Rock now has to go-ahead to proceed with the design phase of the project.

All utilities outside the proposed shoulders of Shelby County roads 62, 85 and 463 will have to be relocated. Turn lanes will need to be added in several locations. Intersections will need to be realigned at several locations. Driveway pipes and mailboxes will have to be relocated to construct shoulders.

According to the resolution, trucks would be permitted to travel both directions along the route so long as the trucks don’t exceed a maximum total weight of 80,000 pounds.