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With oil around $100 a barrell and gas prices stuck above $3 a gallon, you may think it's getting too expensive to drive. You may not have to worry about filling up your tank: oil prices may make it too expensive to keep the roads in drivable condition in the first place. Thursday's MDL reports that the Lake County Commission has put off its 2008 road resurfacing plans due to high oil prices.
The county allocated $442,000 in FY2008 for six miles of asphalt resurfacing on County Roads 26, 19, and 29 in northeast Lake County. Unfortunately, they set that budget last September, when oil (the stuff asphalt is made of) was $72-$75 a barrel. The county just received bids for the resurfacing based on current oil prices. The bids ranged from $521,500 (McLaughlin and Schulz, Marshall, MN*) to $605,000 (Bowes Construction, Brookings, SD).
So much for paving this year. The commissioners decided to bank the money and put it toward road repairs next year. So go easy on the Norwegian Boulevard -- if you see me on my bike up there, you'll see me swerving around the potholes.
And with apologies for pessimism, consider this: if the county can't even afford to maintain the roads it has this year, how hard will it be to find extra money at the state and federal level to expand Highway 34 to four lanes? I hope highway funds are available somewhere, but they are, maybe we need to put them toward maintaining existing infrastructure first.
*Funny a Minnesota company that has to pay income tax could still outbid three South Dakota companies.
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Doesn't Lake County have any reserve money for road repairs? How does waiting another year, allowing roads to deteriorate further, save any money?
ReplyDeleteThe cost of blacktop probably won't go down in the next year. I'd rather see them do 90% of the miles they planned to do this year than do nothing at all.
Waiting a year is not a good idea. The price may be another 15% higher next year, then what will they do. Wait another year?
We end up like the State with a huge backlog and no money to get it done. We need new commissioners that are concerned about our safety.
Public Safety should be the only issue. Let's hope nobody gets hurt on that rough road. The road that needs work is the Chester Road that runs from Highway 34 into Chester. Dangerous with no edge and steep ditches. Lots of kids use that road each day.
ReplyDeleteWhat cost is greater than public safety? If Lake County normally blacktops ten miles of county roads each year and this year only six miles are proposed, let's dip into reserves and finish all six miles before the cost jumps again next year AND MAINLY BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED OR KILLED.
ReplyDeleteIf we can't dip into reserves to finish all six miles, let's drop the mile south of Rutland and save the $79,000 bid overshot. That is a slower speed road and can wait until next season. The other roads (5 miles), north of the firecracker stand and west of Rutland need to be taken care of for public safety.
That should be our County Commissioner's number one concern, not sticking their heads in the Middle East sand, hoping costs will come down. Penny Wise and Pound Foolish!
We can change the gridlock in June and November by electing three brand new Commissioners.
Sounds like someone's not getting the Rutland vote! ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou're right -- waiting for the price to go down is a guarantee it'll never happen, especially with any oil-based product. Politics is the art of the possible... and sometimes we've got to work a little harder to make the possible happen.