Fairfield's roads open to farmers

PROVO — Hog and turf farmers can now drive through the small town of Fairfield using whatever road they want, according to a ruling recently issued by a judge.

Several disgruntled farmers filed a lawsuit in late 2005 questioning the town's authority to impose a weight limit that would force them off 1600 North — a road they drive daily to get to work.

After several hearings, 4th District Judge Anthony Schofield ruled Wednesday that the town did not enact the restriction correctly and thus has no ability to enforce a weight limit on the road.

"The initial weight limit ordinance was adopted by the town without complying with any of the requirements of Utah Code," Schofield wrote in his 17-page ruling. "As originally adopted, the weight limit ordinance was so restrictive that school buses, ambulances, the Bookmobile and garbage trucks could not lawfully use the road."

Attorneys for the town argued the town could impose the restriction thanks to a section of Utah Code that allows towns to create road restrictions in emergency situations. They said a deteriorating road was that emergency, but Schofield disagreed.

Schofield even ruled that a letter from the town's contracted engineers was written to "shoehorn the town into the exception."

"Here, Earthtec sought to provide the town what it wanted," Schofield wrote. "In doing so it abrogated its professional independence. And it did not help the town, for it did not offer an opinion on the very issue which the town, by statute, needed."

But the legal victory doesn't solve the pragmatic problem. The chip-sealed, two-lane road is still crumbling and Schofield has previously ruled that he cannot force the town to make improvements.

"It's getting pretty bad," said attorney Joseph Rust, who represents some of the farmers. "Worse and worse all the time."

The farmers previously offered to fix the road but were turned down. The town's leaders said they wanted expensive asphalt for the road, not another layer of chip seal.

Rust said he plans to approach the town's attorney to see if officials are "willing to talk or if everything is still off."

"We still have some problems there," Rust said. "This (ruling) is not the end of the story. I hope in all sincerity that the city would work with us now (to) see what we can do to actually fix this road."

Multiple calls to the city's attorney were not returned Monday.

The two-lane road was just gravel until it was chip-sealed by Utah County in 2000 — covered in tar then gravel — but that didn't provide much structural integrity to the road, Schofield ruled.

The town hasn't done any road maintenance since then and the potholes and crumbling shoulders have gotten worse, Schofield wrote.

He also found that the "alternate route," which would have required drivers to go on Eagle Mountain Boulevard, then along the Lehi-Fairfield Road and finally onto 16000 West, was too far out of their way and not a reasonable alternative.

Plus, that road was in even worse condition than the original road in question.

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