Commissioners restate plans to chip seal portion of Panoramic View
A sign tacked to the entrance of Panoramic View Drive warns visitors of the dust hazard from the road. (Will Langhorne/The Western News)
Lincoln County commissioners last week reiterated plans to chip seal a portion of Panoramic View soon, but could not offer a solid date.
The long-suffering residents living around Panoramic View have dealt with dust coming off the unpaved road for more than a decade. Although a permanent solution remains just out of reach — much of the road falls under the purview of a homeowners association — local officials earlier this year agreed to chip seal the county’s portion.
On May 19, Panoramic View neighbors again pressed commissioners to make good on their promise to complete the work by the end of the month. In the past, county officials have oiled the road to tamp down on the dust kicked up by vehicles.
“I’m just anxious. Every day I go out and dust has covered my truck,” said resident Arlene Elletson. “You guys told us it would be done in May. We’re just keeping on you and just want to get it done.”
County Commissioner Jerry Bennett (D-2) told the small group of neighbors, who have lobbied the board multiple times this spring, that materials for the project were en route. Crews were waiting for a stretch of good weather to start work on the .7-mile section of road, he said.
“The long range forecast is that by the 29th or 30th, it will be 70 to 80 degrees for three days, so then we can do the chip and seal and have it last,” Bennett said. “If we try to do it earlier than that, or in bad weather, it will destroy the chip seal.”
Asked if he had received emailed photographs of the dust coming off the road in recent days, Bennett confirmed he had. He told the residents he did not respond because the commissioners already committed to the project.
Bennett reiterated that the work was dependent upon good weather.
“We just don’t want to waste the product,” he said, referring to the project materials.
The dust coming off of Panoramic View is a perennial problem for neighbors. The developers behind Panoramic View Estates, the subdivision the road services, were originally responsible for maintaining the roadway. That has since shifted to the homeowners as the majority of the lots have been sold off.
In 2019, county health officials issued an abatement that classified the dust as a health hazard, but even that has not led to a permanent fix.