Commissioners approve road projects

Cheyenne County Commissioners approved of the Cheyenne County Highway Superintendent’s 2013 One and Six Year Road Improvement Plan during their meeting Monday morning.

Tom Noel explained the completed construction and maintenance projects from the 2012 hearing, as well as his future proposed projects.

“Last year we took a bridge out and made it a low water crossing on 97,” he told the commissioners.

The bridge in question was said to be deteriorating on Road 97 south of Road 18, and was replaced with the low water crossing.

“We did 81 miles of gravel road last year with our own forces, and we hauled another 15,935 cubic yards of material to fill out washouts, widen roads, do driveways, and more,” said Noel.

The gravel needed for the 81 miles worth of projects was 20,285 cubic yards, and the other material to fill washouts was mostly used to repair heavy summer rain damage.

“We didn’t have any major grading projects last year,” he said. “The Air Force did 33 miles of Missile Routes that were graveled last year, however.”

Noel said that there are several more miles of widening, graveling and asphalt patching proposed for the year 2013.

He also said that he hopes to do some overlay projects this year as well.

“The Air Force right now with the plans I have, if they get to do all of them, will be approximately creating 27 miles of Air Force Roads (Missile Routes) again,” he said.

Those gravel roads would be created on a government contract.

Noel said that the two main projects proposed in the one-year plan are a concrete box replacement on Road 139 (Weyerts South) and replacing an existing box culvert and CMP pipe culvert with a new box culvert on Road 79, 1.5 miles north of Road 8.

The estimated cost of the Weyerts South project is projected at $304,175, and the cost of the culvert box project on Road 79 is estimated at $100,000.

“The plans (for the Weyerts project) are for the leading to be May 23, and the starting date, if everything gets sent back in time, will be August 19,” said Noel.

He explained that it would be a 40-day project if everything goes well, and that it would be finished by mid-October.

Noel said that the box culvert replacement on Road 79 is something that the Air Force wants replaced and will therefore complete themselves.

“We’ve discussed that they are going to do that with their re-grounding surface project,” he said. “The estimated cost was between $75,000 to $100,000, and they figured the road would be closed for approximately 10 days.”

Noel said that the other three proposed project on his one-year plan will depend on time and available equipment for completion.

He wrote that the plans include “1.6 miles of Double Armor Coat will be returned to gravel near the Ag Lab on Road 109 and 32N,” at an estimated cost of $14,000.

They also include “0.8 miles of Double Armor Coat will be returned to gravel on Road 105 (costing approximately $8,000), and 2 miles of Road 103 from Road 32 north to Road 36 will be returned to gravel.”

Noel said that the one-year and five-year projects completion will depend on whether or not the machinery to complete the projects can be booked in a timely manner.

He said that one of the grinders they use from John Deere is already booked in Omaha for the next four months.

Noel wrote in the hearing document that there are three proposed projects over the years 2011 to 2016.

One of the projects proposed is to “replace a single-span timber bridge on Road 145 south of Road 42 with single-span concrete and a steel bridge.”

“Instead of a bridge can we go with culverts,” asked Cheyenne County Commissioner Harold Winkelman.

“That will depend on when we do the hydraulic study whether it tells us if we can put big enough culverts in there or not to do it. Right now it is holding up,” said Noel.

“I think instead of spending that kind of money for a bridge that would be better - if we could do it,” responded the commissioner.

“There’s quite a lot of clearance underneath it so it’s quite a big hole and takes an awful lot of culverts to take care of it,” said Noel.

Another project in the five-year plan is to “realign road and build a new 28’ x 60’ concrete and steel bridge on Lodgepole Creek five miles west of Sidney.”

The cost for the project is estimated at $125,000.

The last proposed project consists of “3.8 miles of grading from 0.5 miles south of the east Sidney I-80 interchange east on Road 16.”

The project was delayed last year and would cost approximately $80,000.

The commissioners approved the one and six-year road improvement plan.

They also accepted the Federal-aid Transportation Fund Purchase-Sale Agreement for the Highway Bridge Program.