Oops! They did it again!

Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.

As folks approached the Courthouse Circle on their way home acfrom work around sunset on Tuesday, Oct. 11, they encountered the flashing blue lights of law enforcement vehicles blocking off the lanes and rerouting traffic. The roundabout was still blocked when, about an hour later, the pottery class at Jefferson Arts ended and some of its members headed east on Highway 90. Even after 8 p.m. as candidate forums wrapped up inside the courthouse and the attendees crossed over the circle to their cars, the intersection of Jefferson and Washington Streets remained impassible.
The problem was a long-haul truck pulling a trailer loaded with a giant blue cylinder. Its front end was stuck over the curb, stopped just short of a palm tree. The trailer and its colorful cargo, unable to turn sufficiently to navigate the circle, extended back toward The First bank, where a wrecker with a crane from Parkway towing had been called in to assist in freeing the trailer.
Officers from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO), the Monticello Police Department (MPD) and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) all assisted at the scene.
MPD Chief Fred Mosley reports that neither his office nor the Sheriff's Office had been made aware ahead of time that any oversized load was approaching the courthouse.
Sheriff Mac McNeill explained that the truck had come into town from the east on Highway 90, on its way to Alabama. Its permit from the Florida Department of Transportation (DOT) didn't allow it to travel certain sections of Interstate 10, where the transport's height or weight did not meet the requirements for particular overpasses/underpasses. Therefore, the driver had been routed through Monticello with the intention of merging back onto I-10 in Tallahassee, where the load would meet requirements again.
Eventually, the wrecker was able to position the trailer so that the vehicle could back up, maneuver backwards around Courthouse Circle and get onto U.S. 19 South.
Unfortunately, it was dark, and the driver was not allowed to proceed with this kind of cargo after sunset. Sheriff McNeill reports that the rig was parked overnight at the Jefferson County Industrial Park on U.S. 19 S., in front of the Alpha Foundations building. The next day, Oct. 12, with new permits issued, the truck was finally on its way out of Monticello.
Chief Mosley issued a statement saying, “I would like to say thanks to the residents for being patient. I also want to thank all participating law enforcement officers for their quick response.”
Sheriff McNeill has contacted state government offices about the problem. He told the News that he hopes to arrange a meeting in the next week or two with DOT, as the permitting agency, and other state officials so that this doesn't continue to happen.
“It's not fair to have our local resources tied up to take care of a situation like this,” said Sheriff McNeill.
He would like to invite officials involved in this type of permitting process to come see the intersection for themselves so that their information databases can accurately reflect the features that make it impossible for loads of this type to maneuver.
Residents may remember that just two months ago a similar situation unfolded on Aug. 4, when an LP tanker more than 160 feet long got stuck in the same place, causing traffic delays, confusion and the need to reroute traffic, including large semi trucks, through surrounding neighborhoods. Sheriff McNeill says that a second truck like that one came through recently at 4 a.m. The truck carrying the blue cylinder this week did not have the same ability to pivot as the previous two trucks, which resulted in three local law enforcement agencies to be called in to assist. McNeill doesn't want trucks like this routed through Monticello again.