Asphalt, box culvert work in county continues

HARTINGTON – Work continues on asphalt overlay and box culvert projects throughout Cedar County.

The county board of commissioners heard an update from County Highway Superintendent Carla Schmidt Oct. 24 about the projects.

Knife River of Sioux City, Iowa, was awarded the contract of more than $2.3 million in February for four asphalt overlay projects.

One of the projects the company has been working on is 889th Road from Highway 57 going east to Bow Valley.

This project has included milling of some of the existing asphalt and laying a threeinch overlay.

“Bow Valley’s pretty much done,” Schmidt said.

Commissioner Dick Donner asked Schmidt why that stretch of road is “so rough.”

Schmidt was unsure of what Donner was talking about.

Donner asked Schmidt to drive on that stretch of road again.

Schmidt said she drove on it on Oct. 23. “We drove it twice,” Schmidt said. “We just drove it once, we pulled off on the shoulder, we checked the shouldering. We went all the way into Bow Valley. We measured the striping, so we drove it again from one end to the other and back. I didn’t think it was rough.”

Donner said he recently driven on the same stretch of road, but it was not as smooth as he thought it would be.

“They got out to maybe the two feet on the edge and there was no material there,” Schmidt said. “We did have them add a little bit there so your number is probably going to be strong on the tons, but just so there was something there. They added some and put the three-inch lift on top of it.”

Schmidt said the Bow Valley road was not going to be as smooth as a tabletop after the work was completed.

Donner wondered whether adding another overlay on top of the first one would have helped smooth out the road even more with some “inconsistencies” on that stretch when he recently drove it.

He asked Schmidt to drive on that stretch of road once more, though he acknowledged it will not matter, as the project has pretty much been completed.

“When we drove it, we were driving pretty slow,” Schmidt said.

Another area Knife River has been working on is for 898th Road from Highway 81 going east for 1.7 miles near South Yankton. This also is known as the “Bottom Road.”

This project includes milling the existing asphalt up, laying it back down and compacting it for a base, and then laying eight inches of asphalt over the top.

Schmidt told the commissioners the project for this stretch of road had been completed other than shouldering work.

“They were moving a lot of dirt for that shouldering,” Schmidt said. “It’s going to take a lot.”

Knife River also will work on Kathol Road from Highway 84 going south for about 800 feet next to St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery just southwest of the Hartington city limits.

This is a new overlay project on an existing gravel road and will include eight inches of asphalt on the subgrade.

Board Chairman Dave McGregor was not happy the project hadn’t started.

Knife River had been planning to start on the project two weeks ago, but the wet weather in the forecast stopped the company from moving its equipment to the site.

Schmidt said Knife River did not want to tear that stretch of road up “and then have that rain set in, and then they’re going to be very upset because they won’t be able to use it. They didn’t come because of the weather forecast.”

The fourth asphalt overlay project Knife River completed in June on 559th Avenue from Highway 20 going north for three-fourths of a mile past the Randolph cemeteries.

In addition to the asphalt overlay projects, Schmidt updated the commissioners on two box culvert projects that were awarded to A&R Construction of Plainview in February.

The box culverts will replace two structurally deficient bridges and are part of the Nebraska Department of Transportation’s County Bridge Match Program.

Schmidt said the NDOT’s County Bridge Match Program will reimburse the county up to $200,000 for the two box culvert projects, which have been bundled together.

A&R Construction is working on a box culvert project that is situated southwest of Obert, with the work taking an estimated four to six weeks.

“They have the floor poured and they were tying all the rebar into walls,” Schmidt said. “I know they’re getting ready to do the walls when they get that all done.”

After that work is completed, the company will move on to a box culvert project located west of Coleridge.