David Box of Cuba expressed concern to Crawford County commissioners on Oct. 28 about the traffic on Argo Road, which is located between Cuba and Bourbon in the northern part of the county and borders Franklin County. 

Box said the dust in the roadway and the amount of traffic on the roadway are excessive. He inquired what options existed to cut down on dust on getting the hard road surface. 

In addition, there was further discussion about the amount of traffic Argo Road attracts. The commissioners decided they needed to collect data, and the best way to move forward on that was to get a counter out on Argo Road. 

“I will be reaching out to MoDOT to see if and when we can get their traffic counter and get it set up out there before winter weather hits,” said Jared Boast, District Two Associate Commissioner. 

Once that data is collected, Boast said the next steps could include potentially looking at a grant, if available, that could make that roadway less congested and dusty. 

In other business, the Crawford County Commission has received a total $536,899.06 in settlement funds from Big Pharma in a class action lawsuit involving an opioid supply chain. Payments started coming in May 2023 and will continue over the next decade. So far, nearly $250,000 of those funds have been paid out to organizations within the county for opioid education, awareness and treatment. 

In other business, commissioners said lifetime ATV/UTV permits will be available by the new year for purchase.