Locals help free semi-truck

Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.

The roundabout that circles the Jefferson County Courthouse in downtown Monticello is credited with being one of the first Floridian roundabouts.
With the courthouse in the middle, the roundabout acts as a traffic conductor between the intersection of Jefferson Street (Highway 19) and Washington Street (Highway 90) and is often the main thoroughfare throughout Monticello.
According to local historian, Dee Counts, the Jefferson County Courthouse has always sat at the intersection of the two roads, although the roads themselves weren’t yet known as major highways in Jefferson County.
Thus, a roundabout - of sorts - has always been positioned around the courthouse, although the original road plan was a square, rather than a circle, boxing in the courthouse.
The roundabout is old, and due to the fact that it is surrounded on either side by downtown shops, ancient trees protected under state law and the courthouse on either side, the roundabout remains fairly narrow.
On Wednesday, April 1, a semi-truck carrying half of a mobile structure learned the hard way just how narrow the Jefferson County Courthouse Circle can be.
Shortly before 4 p.m., two semi-trucks, each carrying half of a structure, entered the courthouse circle and were attempting to exit the roundabout onto South Jefferson Street.
Due to the slim constraints of the roundabout, as well as the large trees arching over a portion of the circle, the first semi had difficulty making a tight enough turn, and ended up stuck on the south portion of the roundabout between the West Washington entry point and South Jefferson exit.
This situation caused a traffic blockage, as the second semi was unable to leave the roundabout and other vehicles were unable to enter the roundabout.
According to Monticello Police Department (MPD) Chief Fred Mosley, officers from the MPD were able to respond within a couple of seconds to direct traffic and assist the stuck semi-truck.
Del Loveless, with Georgia-Florida Aviation Search Team (G-FAST), was passing through in the area when he witnessed the situation and volunteered to assist in freeing the truck.
While police officers directed traffic, Loveless removed some of the signage between the north and southbound lanes of South Jefferson Street’s roundabout, which allowed the truck to ride over the median.
From there, the truck entered the northbound lane of South Jefferson, before returning to its own lane and continuing to travel south.
MPD officers assisted the second semi with navigating the tight roundabout in order to prevent being stuck as well.
The situation, Chief Mosley said, lasted no more than 10 minutes due to the quick teamwork of Loveless, other civilians and the MPD.
“It was quick work,” added Mosley.
After the semi-trucks had moved on, the signage was replaced and traffic returned to normal on the Courthouse Circle.