Commissioners OK highway paving bid

BACKUS - Central Specialties was the lowest of 15 bidders to win a contract to pave the west half of Cass County State Aid Highway 40 and its extension Hubbard County CSAH 29 for $851,241.90. Hubbard County must also approve the contract.

Cass commissioners voted Tuesday to accept Central Specialties alternate bid as well to pave Cass CSAH 41 at the same time for $178,968.01. This approval came over objections from Commissioners Jim Demgen and Jim Dowson who wanted the bidding process separated from the joint project in a manner that would have enabled the board to accept lower bids for CSAH 41.

However, County Engineer David Enblom advised the board that all bids likely would have run higher for the CSAH 41 project if they had been separated from the larger CSAH 40 and 29 project.

Both accepted bids were below engineering estimates.

Assistant County Engineer Kris Lyytinen presented the 2008 road maintenance projects to the board.

Gravel will be applied this summer to CSAH 25 (CSAH 2 to 27), 27 (CSAH 25 to Hwy. 87), 41 (Hwy. 87 to pavement) and County Roads 102, 119, 144, 176 and Sucker Bay Road.

Improvements will be made to roads the county is in the process of vacating to Wabedo, Pike Bay and Hiram Townships.

Drainage corrections and gravel work will be done on CSAH 43, 48, 55, 30 and County Roads 141 and 102.

Rumble stripes will be applied to help prevent drivers using some of the counties highest traffic count roads from running off the road. These include CSAH 1 (Hwy. 210 to CSAH 34), 18, 70 and 77. Regular painted land striping will be done on 145.8 miles of state aid and county paved roads this summer. Magnesium chloride will be applied to 149.15 miles of state aid and county gravel roads.

The county plans to use highway safety funding to purchase new streetlights for intersections of Hwy. 371 with CSAH 22, 45, 6 and 50; CSAH 77 with 18; CSAH 44 with Hwy. 84; Hwy. 2 with CR 149 and CSAH 75; and CSAH 60 with CSAH 75 and CRs 148 and 149.