Supervisors question county road conditions

     After several complaints concerning the condition of county gravel roads, the Jones County Board of Supervisors addressed the situation with County Engineer Derek Snead during the Feb. 12 board meeting.

     Snead said the price for rock could increase by 20 percent this year. The board asked if this increase was reflected in Snead’s proposed budget for this coming fiscal year.

     “Sixteen percent is more in line with the budget,” said Snead. “I don’t anticipate a 20 percent jump in contract rock, but I’m not going to say it won’t increase, though.”

     He said spot rock could come in as high as 20 percent.

     “Can we see an increase in spot rock in the troubled areas?” asked Supervisor Joe Oswald.

     Snead said Secondary Roads has been adding more and more spot rock over the past several of years. “We’re ramping up our numbers both in spot rock and contract rock,” he said. “But a lot depends on the weather.”

     The past couple of years, Secondary Roads has taken on ditching, grading and surface stabilization projects, which help with the longevity of the gravel roads. “It reduces the need for and amount of rock needed on those roads,” explained Snead.

     He said Secondary Roads could always increase the amount of rock that goes down, but that would take funding away from other areas/projects.

     “It takes a lot of money to pay for rock,” said Snead. “Those other road projects won’t exist.”

     Supervisor Jon Zirkelbach said he feels some gravel roads aren’t getting the attention they need right away after the issues are reported.

     “We can contract rock the entire county with this bad weather, and you’ll still have bad spots,” explained Snead. “The problem is not the depth of the rock. The majority is the subgrade issues and more drainage.” Snead said that’s why ditching projects are needed.

     “I don’t care how much you put down, the roads will still be soft,” he added.

     Snead said looking into this coming fiscal year, Secondary Roads has already identified several small, isolated areas that are in need some of improvements with subgrade and re-shaping the roadway.

     “Adding more rock is a short-term fix,” he said. “It doesn’t ultimately fix the problem.”

     Snead said if Secondary Roads take LOT (local option tax) funding away from rock, they could have the ability to do some of these other road projects.

     “Those projects pay for themselves in a number of years down the road,” he said.

     Supervisor Wayne Manternach said the last few years, Snead said spent funding to upgrade the Secondary Road equipment, which was important. Manternach said now, he’d like to see that funding go toward the critical roads in Jones County.

     “It comes down to choosing what projects you want to do,” said Manternach. “If we’re getting critical, we need to be aggressive with the gravel roads.”

     Manternach said he’d be in favor of picking the most critical spots in the county and contract the projects out using LOT funding.

     “I wouldn’t mind seeing a few LOT projects and continuing the ditching,” said Manternach. “I think it would help a lot.”

     In terms of keeping rock on the roads, especially during the winter, Snead said it’s a “perpetual battle.

     “It the nature of being in a rural county.”

     Supervisor Ned Rohwedder questioned why road crews aren’t out on the weekends clearing roads. Snead said in the history of Secondary Roads, they’ve gone out as soon as possible on Monday mornings. “We haven’t changed that practice,” said Snead.

     He said the recent issues are coming up due to the extreme weather hitting the state with ice and frequent heavy snowfalls. “Our crews have been working 55 hours a week since it all started,” added Snead.