Chester Merrill spent Friday morning towing two trucks out of the mud on the Cochise County-maintained road in front of his property, where neighbors regularly find themselves stranded after even light rainfall.
"The third neighbor, he's still stuck. His four wheel drive doesn't work so he said ahead of time just leave it there, we'll get it when it dries out," Merrill said.
Later that day, Merrill took his Polaris to pick up the mail, navigating conditions so poor that delivery trucks won't attempt the route.
"The FedEx truck was stopped here like 'I don't think he should go any further,'" Merrill said.
He's lived in the area for nearly 50 years and says road conditions have deteriorated significantly in recent years.
"It didn't used to be this bad," Merrill said.
In the last 5 years, he's watched the road become increasingly difficult to navigate, raising serious safety concerns for residents.
"My fear—and a couple of the people that I talked to this morning that I helped get unstuck— is that if there were a medical emergency, we'd be limited by helicopter or too bad," Merrill said.
Over half of Cochise County-maintained roads are unpaved, with 255 miles classified as primitive roads like the one where Merrill lives.
"It's a challenge at times," said Kenny Gaynor, Merrill's neighbor.
The road conditions kept Gaynor's wife home from work Friday.
"We all expect that we may be stranded for a day or two, maybe three," Gaynor said.
Gaynor, Merrill and their neighbors all said they called Cochise County leaders that day, asking officials to do something about the roads. However, they say they recognize the financial and physical challenges of doing so.
Merrill has even offered to donate materials himself to help with repairs.
"This is a County-maintained road and the fact that one or two inches of rain keeps people from getting out, that's kind of falling behind the 8-ball I think," Merrill said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
- Download our free app for Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, Alexa, and mobile devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
