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• "If the fire department and emergency responders can't use the road to get to U.S. Highway 12, it adds three miles to their response calls, which means it takes longer to get to fires or other emergencies," said Bob Osterman, President of the Groton Fire Board.
• "The Groton School District has used this route for many years," Olson added. "Only one route is using it this year, in part because of the potholes on this road."
• The road has deteriorated over the past couple of year, in part due to the wet weather and flooding. The road boarders the Mud Creek, and has had standing water to both sides for years.
• Olson told the commissioners that this was a well-constructed road, built with state and federal highway money as part of the Yellowstone Trail.
• "It would be a shame for it to revert to gravel," he said.
• Weismantel said that road crews can make some improvements to the road in spring.
• "It may just be gravel patched to make it drivable for right now," she said, "But, it's not going to get a new asphalt mat. The department doesn't have enough money