Fremont County approves temporary truck allowance at Martin Marietta’s Parkdale Quarry; commissioners say concerns are overblown

Fremont County commissioners said the board last week approved a temporary allowance for increased truck activity at Martin Marietta’s Parkdale Quarry to help the company clear an existing stockpile and keep employees working.

"We did the right thing by allowing them a temporary more trucks coming off of that lot," Commissioner Kevin Grantham said on the county’s One Fremont program, adding the decision included stipulations and was not permanent. The quarry is a few miles west of town on Highway 50.

Commissioners said the decision was driven by economics: Martin Marietta prefers to ship by rail but its current orders and circumstances make rail infeasible, so the company requested short‑term permission to move material by truck. Officials emphasized state safety requirements — including tarping and adherence to weight and routing laws — apply to the movements.

The board said social‑media and some city‑council commentary overstated the impact. "There will not be 120 extra trucks going through town a day," Grantham said, calling some claims "overblown." In the program discussion commissioners described the approved limit as a maximum of up to 120 round trips (described in the meeting as the maximum total), and said it should not be read as 120 additional trucks on top of existing traffic.

Commissioners framed the vote as a business‑continuity decision that balances local employment and economic activity with traffic and safety concerns. "We're not going to hold their material hostage on their pit," Grantham said, adding the county and the company prefer rail but approved a temporary truck option so material is not stranded.

The board said it placed time limits and revisit provisions on the approval. "This is not a permanent situation," Grantham said; commissioners said they will review the arrangement later and enforce any conditions the county put in place.

The discussion left some numbers approximate: commissioners described prior truck activity as about 40 trips per day and discussed the approved 120 round‑trip cap as a maximum; they acknowledged actual truck counts could be lower. Commissioners urged residents to review the full meeting recording for the exact stipulations and to avoid relying on summary posts on social media.

The county did not provide a detailed traffic‑management plan on the program and did not present a vote tally or formal motion text during the broadcast.