County approves road improvement projects
HARTINGTON – The time of year for road construction projects has not arrived quite yet, but Cedar County is getting ready for it.
The county board of commissioners on Feb. 14 approved a total contract of $2,346,445.99 for Knife River of Sioux City, Iowa, to work on four asphalt overlay projects, which are scheduled to be completed later in 2023.
The only other bid for the projects was $2,412,118.80 from Western Engineering of Harlan, Iowa.
One of the projects is for 898th Road from Highway 81 going east for 1.7 miles near South Yankton. This also is known as the “Bottom Road.”
In a follow-up interview, County Highway Superintendent Carla Schmidt noted the 898th Road project is for a county road with likely “the highest traffic count, and that is not going to change.”
“The ‘Bottom Road’ has been in dire need of attention for some time,” Schmidt said. “The issue with this road has grown increasingly troublesome with increased traffic and heavier equipment over the years. Patching doesn’t seem to be a viable option anymore.
“The maintenance of this road is very expensive, and the county has been looking at possibly doing an overlay project versus the annual patching, etc.,” she said. “This project includes milling the existing asphaltic concrete up, laying it back down and compacting it for base, and laying eight inches of asphalt over the top.”
The other three asphalt overlay projects are for:
• 889th Road from Highway 57 going east to Bow Valley.
“The Bow Valley road has also needed some extra attention for some time,” Schmidt said. “That will include milling some of the existing (asphalt) and laying a three-inch overlay.”
-559th Avenue from Highway 20 going north for .75 of a mile past the Randolph cemeteries.
“The Randolph cemetery road is much like the Bow Valley road – milling some of the existing (asphalt) and laying a three-inch overlay,” Schmidt said.
• Kathol Drive from Highway 84 going south for approximately 800 feet next to St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery just southwest of the Hartington city limits.
“The Hartington project is a new overlay project on an existing gravel road,” Schmidt said. “This will include eight inches of asphalt on the subgrade.”
In addition to the asphalt overlay projects, the commissioners also approved a contract for A&R Construction of Plainview to work on two box culvert projects.
One project is located west of Coleridge – the winning bid for this was $397,605.74 – and A&R Construction is expected to work on it in October and November.
The other project is situated southwest of Obert – the winning bid for this was $290,891.39 – and A&R Construction is expected to work on it in September and October.
Vogtscapes Inc. of Bennet submitted the only other bids for the work – $474,248 for the Coleridge project and $359,665 for the Obert project.
“These two box culverts are replacing two structurally deficient bridges and are part of the County Bridge Match Program,” Schmidt said. “The Bridge Match Program will reimburse us for 55 percent or $200,000 of the cost of the project.”