Speed limit dropped to 30 on Railroad Road

Detour drivers, slow down.

The Brown County Commissioners have approved lowering the speed limit on Railroad Road to 30 mph while it is being used as a detour.

Brown County Highway Superintendent Mike Magner said it was already posted at 30 mph on the south end, but not on the north end, so now it’s officially 30 on the whole road.

Traffic has increased considerably on the county road while State Road 135 is closed just south of the railroad tracks. The Indiana Department of Transportation is replacing two small bridges on the highway and predicts it will be closed through the end of July or first week of August.

Last week, a driver ran off Railroad Road and hit a tree and had to be flown to a hospital. Speed was a factor in that crash.

Police have increased patrols on the road, according to the sheriff’s log.

EMA: Grant money left over after generator buy

Brown County received a $69,000 grant to get a generator for the EMS building, but it’s going to cost much less to buy and install it. The county commissioners discussed earlier this month what they could do with the rest of that grant.

It’s not a cash grant; it’s a reimbursement grant, said Brown County Auditor Beth Mulry.

Brown County Emergency Management Agency Director Susan Armstrong said the Hamblen Volunteer Fire Department has put in a request for a generator and she was considering using the rest of the grant award to buy one for that station.

In the interest of equipment oversight and overall fairness, Mulry asked the commissioners and Armstrong to consider what other county properties might need generators before buying them for volunteer fire departments, which are separate legal entities.

“I’m not trying to say Hamblen shouldn’t get one; I’m just asking questions,” Mulry said.

The commissioners made no decision.