Greenwood will ban semi-truck traffic on two more roads, this time addressing the concerns of nearby residents.
The Greenwood City Council this week approved a ban on truck traffic on all of Griffith Road, and Allen Road between Collins and Griffith roads.
These two roads are located on the east side of Interstate 65 in a heavily industrial area with several warehouses nearby, including the Amazon Fulfillment Center. A common complaint among residents who live in the Homecoming at University Heights subdivision is the constant truck traffic, as Allen Road backs up to several houses in the neighborhood.
In September, the city council agreed to add another industrial property to the area by rezoning 100 acres of farmland to industrial from agriculture, for possible warehouse development. That left the nearby residents unhappy, and several attended a city council meeting to oppose the rezoning.
Council member Mike Campbell said in December the ordinance would address the concerns those residents brought up when the land was rezoned, adding that Griffith and Allen roads are two-lane roads not meant for heavy truck traffic.
Semi-trucks will have to use Graham Road, where most of the warehouses are located, and Worthsville Road to avoid the banned roads. When a warehouse is built on the land between Griffith and Collins roads, trucks will use Collins or Worthsville roads to enter, Greenwood Mayor Mark Myers said. There will be no access on Allen or Griffith.
“They are supposed to use the main roads. They aren’t supposed to use the country roads, which is why the roads get torn up so much,” Myers said.
There will be signage up notifying truck drivers of the ban, but the city will not police the area 24/7, Campbell said. The signs will be added as soon as possible, but there is no set date.
“If there is a problem with it, this at least gives us a tool to stop truck traffic in that area,” Campbell said.
In the past couple years, the City of Greenwood and Johnson County have made efforts to restrict truck traffic on narrow county roads. In October, the county restricted semi-truck traffic in the same area on three county roads north and south of Worthsville Road, east of I-65.
And in May 2019, Greenwood banned semi-truck traffic on County Road 75 East, which runs between Worthsville and Stop 18 roads, between subdivisions and farmland.
