A week after County Commissioner Sue Hakes asked Highway Engineer David Betts to investigate the possibility of doing something to make County Road 8 (Devil’s Track Road) more drivable until it gets paved again next summer, the county board pondered the cost of overlaying it with finer – Class I—gravel, but only briefly.
Betts estimated that putting Class 1 down and then taking it off again in the spring, which would be necessary in order to pave the road according to required specifications, would cost $112,625. He proposed the idea to KGM Construction, the company contracted to repave the road, and they estimated it would cost $146,625.
Betts recommended against it. The Class 1 could not be reused as Class 1. It would be money “down the tubes” for about a month’s worth of driving on it in the spring. A winter snow cover will make the road better until then, he said.
What about crowning the road by pushing gravel up from the sides into the middle so water would run off better, avoiding so many potholes? Commissioner Hakes wondered. No, answered Engineer Betts, the material on the sides of the road is necessary.
Hakes took issue with Betts’ reference to only having about a month’s worth of bad driving between now and the middle of next June, when KGM Construction is expected to be available. It may be some time before the snow flies, and the time between spring breakup and June could be much longer than one month. “I just think the length of time on this is ridiculous,” she said. Why can’t they just get it paved?
The county is waiting in line for KGM to bring the equipment and personnel to get the job done, said Betts. The process will require setting up a blacktop plant and getting certification from the state. Even if KGM were available right now, getting them here now would be risky because the weather may not be warm enough to pave.
“I would rather have this paved,” said Betts. He said he would try to make sure the road was in the best shape possible before winter sets in. KGM is responsible for the road until wintertime, when maintenance will temporarily revert back to the county.
Commissioner Sobanja said residents would just have to plan for more travel time to and from their homes. “Adjust to life,” he admonished. “That’s what got human beings to where they are.”
“I know it’s frustrating, and I’m frustrated,” said Engineer Betts. “It’s really out of our hands. We’re doing the best job we can with the cards we’ve been dealt.”
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