Like most Texas Counties, Fannin County is dependent on truck transportation. If we have something in this County, with the exception of land, water and sky, it most likely made part of its journey here by truck. Unlike some of our neighbors, we do not have optional rail or water transportation. Our air service is limited. Our economy is for the most part supported by trucks.

We depend on trucks to bring in goods, materials and supplies. We need trucks to carry our product to market. Without trucks, most of our citizens would be cut off from the world. Unfortunately, some truckers do not comply with the law. They do not play fair. They save money by skimping on vehicle maintenance, overloading equipment, driving over hours, and not hiring qualified staff. This creates a threat to public safety, disturbs our peace and quiet, and unnecessarily increases the cost of maintaining our roads, highways, and bridges. Their lack of compliance puts law abiding truckers at an economic disadvantage and costs taxpayers a premium.

That being said, it’s time that we take a hard look at the situation and possible solutions.

Our County is spread out over 900 square miles and encompasses over 926 miles of county roads, and 1,000 lane miles of state and federal, roads and highways.
Maintaining our roads, highways, and bridges is an expensive proposition. It is a hard fact of life that locally, we do not have adequate funds available to maintain all existing infrastructure at desired levels.

Our infrastructure, due to ordinary wear and tear, weather and abuse, is in constant state of disrepair. The situation is exacerbated by overweight trucks, and the volume of truck traffic generated by sand mines. As a County, how do we deal with this ongoing “opportunity.” We need to pick and choose which infrastructure to maintain in optimal condition. We need to take better care of our existing infrastructure. We need to reach out to Federal and State agencies for additional funding. Unfortunately, our recent request for funds to widen State Highway 121 was turned down. We are still asking.

Sadly, our roads and highways are not safe. Over the last year, over 20 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in Fannin County. Any loss of life is unacceptable. During last year alone over 500 accidents were reported to the Fannin County Sheriff’s Department. We need to work with the Sheriff’s Department, our Constables, and the Department of Public Safety to enforce traffic laws. They need our support. Let them hear from you.

As we all should be aware by now, throwing money on a problem doesn’t necessarily eliminate the problem. The open question still remains: what can be done to improve our transportation infrastructure? We need to plan for the future.