Horseshoe change has Daviess County and Amish closer to solution to road damage issue

In recent weeks, Daviess County officials have suggested they may limit the amount of paving they do in the future in the eastern part of the county because of the damage horses do to the rural roads.

After some discussion and research, it appears a change to a flatter horse shoe may help alleviate some of the damage to the pavement.

“The safety committee has come up with a less aggressive shoe,” said Daviess County Highway Supervisor Phil Cornelius. “They have more surface contact on the pavement and spread the weight of the horse across the entire shoe. It still has some grip that allows the horse to be safe on the road.”

“We wanted to see that the community was working on some solutions to the problems we are having,” added President of the Daviess County Commissioners Nathan Gabhart. “Clearly, they have put a lot of effort and time into finding solutions. As commissioners we are limited to the suggestions we can give them. They are the experts when it come to shoes on their horses. They took the current shoes and made it more usable for them and do less damage to the road. I’m pleased with their effort and that is all we can expect.”

The shoes are less damaging, but officials say they will still have some roads broken down by horse traffic.

“We know we will never get it to zero,” said Gabhart. “That’s not realistic.”

What has happened in the past is that the caulkins on the horseshoes that give the shoe traction has been more pronounced. With each step taken by the horse, the caulkins would dig into the pavement. Eventually the path where the horses ran would create a rut in the road, commonly called a horse trough. Last fall the county highway department began operating its own blacktop plant. Officials have begun experimenting with different mixes of pavement to make the roads more resistant to horse wear. “That’s what I call playing defense,” said Cornelius. “I think we would prefer to deal with what is causing the damage to begin with.”

Still, Cornelius recognizes the effort to try and find a solution.

“We had a positive meeting,” said Cornelius. “It is interesting to see the cultures interact. It can be a challenge at times to meet everyone’s needs.”

Higher fees an option

One of the ways the county has tried to off-set damage has been by licensing the buggies. Amish leaders are reportedly encouraging their members to purchase the plates.

“They have asked us to make the order form for the plates more available,” said Cornelius. “If there are more buggies plated, then that can help cover the cost of damages.”

“It’s a formula,” added Gabhart. “The damage is on one side of the equation and permit fee is on the other. I’ve always said fifth grade math will get you a long way in life. We’re going to start measuring the damage as best we can to see how much we are spending to fix it and how much revenue the permits bring in. We’ll work from there toward a logical conclusion.”

Currently the buggy permits run about $60. Some have suggested raising them to $160. County crews say they are working on ways to quantify and identify the horse damage.

“We know what we have spent on patching, and even though we do not have horse or buggy counts on the roads, we can tell by the nature of the damages where the higher horse traffic counts are,” said Cornelius. “One thing I think we need to do is begin repairs on roads with horse damage as soon as we see it.”

With an increased emphasis on purchasing permits, moving to flatter horse shoes, coming up with more quantitative methods of assessing damage and the cooperative attitude, county officials say they feel they are headed for good results.

“I feel we are on the right track,” said Cornelius. “We really don’t have much of an option to stop. The Amish area is growing in population, homes, commerce and tourism.”

Chip and seal an option

One option being considered is something between gravel and paved roads in the Amish area.

“I’m wondering if maybe we might be better off if we did more chip and seal instead of paving,” said Cornelius. “That might produce a hard surface road that is easier and less expensive for us to maintain.”

Daviess County is not the only county in the state with a significant Amish population. About one third of the state wrestles with many of the same problems facing local officials. Those counties appear to be watching Daviess County closely to see how it the solve issues.

“Other counties are looking at us because of the relationship we have with the Amish community here,” said Gabhart. “They want to see what we wind up with to see if they can duplicate those same results.”