MALONE -- The Town of Malone is closing four roads to most truck traffic, claiming the pavement can't take the daily punishment, and people are in danger.

The impacted highways are Porter Road, Goodman Road, Thomas Hill Road and River Road.

A public hearing will be held Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. in the Town Offices at the Malone-Dufort Airport, giving residents and business owners a chance to tell the Town Council what they think of the idea of limiting usage to local-delivery trucks and farming equipment.

Deputy Town Supervisor Paul Walbridge said the town was approached by several residents a year ago concerned about the high volume and speed of the large tandem trucks using town roads to connect with state highways.

Dump trucks from local gravel pits head east where wind-farm projects were built just over Franklin County's shared border with Clinton County by Noble Environmental Power.

The Connecticut-based company also plans to build other wind-energy plants in Chateaugay, Burke and Bellmont.

Alternate route

But the alternate route the heavy trucks would use instead of the four roads in question would be Duane Street Road, which passes the Malone Recreation Park and Malone Golf Club and ends in the Village of Malone.

"They are talking about sending trucks by the Rec Park where there are kids most of the summer," said Franz Fredericks, manager of Titus Mountain Sand and Gravel.

The roads his drivers will be banned from using "are the easiest and shortest way out of town. With the price of gasoline and fuel, that would be a long way to go," he said.

He said the trucking firms use special tires meant to absorb the added weight of heavy loads and pay the town extra for hauling permits.

But Fredericks wonders where that money goes if not to road repairs if these larger trucks cause damage.

"We hope to find out where the money goes before the public hearing," he said.

Fredericks also plans to find out why the Town Council does not plan to close Low Road out of Whippleville to heavy-truck traffic.

It is the road that town dump trucks use to haul loads from the gravel pit to Webster Street Road.