Less than a dozen mailboxes that do not meet Office of State Aid requirements could potentially cost Jones County over $4 million in funds that have been designated for road and bridge work here.
The loss of millions could result if some Jones County residents do not move their “hazardous” mailboxes further from the edge of State Aid highways in the county. The Jones County supervisors have been working to persuade residents since late 2018 to comply with the requirement by the Office of State Aid to have mailboxes that do not breakaway if struck by a vehicle positioned at least 10 feet from the edge of the highway. That’s according to Jones County Chief Administrative Officer Danielle Ashley.
The requirement by the Office of State Aid that the mailboxes “breakaway” if struck by a vehicle basically means that brick-encased mailboxes or mailboxes mounted on steel posts are not permitted, unless that are beyond the 10-feet zone defined by the state.
“If a mailbox is within ten feet of the edge of the pavement (of a State Aid road), and it’s not one that will breakaway if you swerve off the road and hit it, that’s considered a hazardous mailbox,” explained Ashley.
Due to an inspection by a State Aid district engineer that found some “hazardous” mailboxes still standing within the restricted zone, $2.63 million of State Aid Project funds and $1.37 million of Local System Bridge Replacement monies are currently suspended and not available to Jones County. The further threat to the county is that these funds could be redirected to other Mississippi counties if the hazardous mailbox issue in Jones County is not resolved. Ashley said she was not aware of any hard deadline for such an action to take place.
The suspended funds are adversely affecting some projects in the county now, including work on bridges or highways on the following roads: Sharon Moss Road, Hillcrest Drive, Bernis Hill Road, Lower Ovett Road and Will Knight Road. The SAP and LSBP funds for these projects presently are being withheld by State Aid due to the hazardous mailbox matter.
Ashley noted that the county has sent out letters to the residents who have not adhered to the State Aid demand, but some homeowners are not complying.
“Some people are not working with us,” she said, pointing out that the residents have been informed that their non-compliance is costing the county money.
Ashley produced a letter that had been sent to the homeowners, which reads in part:
“The Mississippi Department of Transportation, through the Office of State Aid Road Construction, administers funding for maintenance of certain county roads in the State of Mississippi that have been designated as State Aid routes. There are approximately three hundred twenty-nine (329) miles of county roads in Jones County on the State Aid System, and Jones County receives funding that can only be used for maintenance of these roads. In order to utilize these funds on a given State Aid Route, Jones County must comply with certain State and Federal safety guidelines. One such guideline pertains to obstructions located within the roadside clear zone, which is ten (10) feet in width as measured perpendicularly from the edge of pavement. Mailboxes located within the roadside clear zone must comply with the aforementioned safety guidelines.
Jones County recently completed a State Aid project that included the resurfacing of thirty-nine (39) miles of roadway on the State Aid System. During a routine inspection of the routes included in this project, the State Aid District Engineer for Jones County identified a number of mailboxes along the project that did not meet the required safety standards. As a result of these findings, the Office of State Aid Road Construction is withholding all future funding for State Aid projects until such time that all non-compliant mailboxes along the project have been removed or brought into compliance."
The letter then goes on to list some options the homeowner could take to remedy their non-compliance and gives the phone number to each of the district (or beat) offices in the county.
Ashley said the Board of Supervisors is now considering what further actions they need to take to reach a state of compliance with the State Aid demand.
“We are now asking State Aid what we need to do if a resident won’t comply, is threatening to get their own attorney, or if they stand out there and prevent us, even though it’s on our right-a-way.”