County releases road construction list
Posted By J.T. on June 25, 2009
Harrisonville, Missouri - The Cass County Commission and the Cass County Road & Bridge Department have released their primary list of major-repair projects.
Commissioners have worked with Road & Bridge officials to look at cost, efficiencies, and construction practices to put the best plan in place for 2009. The County Commission credited the work of the Cass County Road & Bridge Task Force in helping set the direction.
Associate Commissioner Bill Cook is pleased with the effort. “Our efforts to include citizens from all over the county, to lay out a foundational plan for improving our roads, to improve quality and efficiencies are working. We are taking the first steps to really improving our infrastructure,” stated Cook.
The first step in improving the county roads revolves around repairing current roadways in the county. The county is not creating any new roads or changing any gravel roads to paved roads in 2009. “Our goal is to take care of that which we already have,” commented Cook.
County officials also pointed out that the plan is also flexible. “I think we have to consider major weather events that could alter the plan a bit,” commented Presiding Commissioner Gary Mallory. “ As long as our county revenue comes in we are committed to improving our infrastructure and move Cass County forward. If something changes, we will be communicating with task-force members and citizens on adjusting our plan accordingly… and likewise… if we get more stimulus dollars or state aid, we will look at adding further projects.”
The Road & Bridge Department has listed their primary project plans noting that slight changes may occur in the order depending on weather conditions and other variables. Roads to be repaired this year include…
· 163rd - Allendale Lake Road to Quarry Road
· Graham Road to VV to County Line Road
· 189th Street - Gray Road to Hickory Grove
· Prairie Lane - 58 Highway to Lucy Webb
· 195th Street - School Road to Route J Highway
· Hoover Road
· 243rd Street - East Lynne to M Highway
· 215th Street - Y Highway to D Highway
· Sherwood School Road
· Grant Road - 7 Highway to N Highway
· Kauffman Road - 7 Highway to 2 Highway
The cost for these road-projects is around $1.2 to $1.5 million. It should be noted that the list does not include patch-work or gravel grading projects around the county.
The county has purchased its own “Chip-Spreader” and “Oil Distributor” to assist with improving efficiency. Commissioners state that owning the equipment rather than leasing it or hiring a private company to do it saves the county nearly $625,000 to $650,000 in costs. Cass County has further improved the training of employees in their use of all equipment to improve the quality of work performed by the Road & Bridge Department.
“The Road & Bridge employees are working very hard to improve their efforts, efficiencies, and quality,” stated Cook. “We are very pleased with the hard work they are putting in to make Cass County a better place.”
The county is also going to build an experimental road using a new type of material called “Fly Ash.” The road being used to test this new material is a portion of Lake Annette Rd. Fly-Ash is a lightweight material, as compared to commonly used fill material (local soils), therefore, causes lesser settlements. It is especially attractive for embankment construction over weak sub-grade such as alluvial clay or silt where excessive weight could cause failure.
Fly-Ash embankments can be compacted over a wide range of moisture content, and therefore, results in less variation in density with changes in moisture content. It has high permeability and ensures free and efficient drainage. After rainfall, water gets drained out freely ensuring better workability. Fly-Ash is amenable to stabilization with lime and cement and it can replace a part of cement and sand in concrete pavements thus making them more economical than roads constructed using conventional materials. Fly-Ash admixed concrete can be prepared with zero “lump” making it amenable for use as roller compacted concrete.
Cass County feels that considering all these advantages, it is extremely essential to test use of Fly-Ash for construction of roads and embankments.
“The focus here is to look for new, economically efficient, and environmental friendly ways to improve our roads,” commented Associate Commissioner Baker. “If we can use new technology to improve our infrastructure and use our dollars more efficiently we can really move forward as a county.”
The county is looking at two other new technologies related to dust control and road sealant. County road officials are working with the Missouri Soybean Association on a new dust control product to reduce dust on gravel roads. They are also looking at a new process called “Micro-Surfacing.” This is a 1-ince sealant material that seals up a paved-road and survive weather conditions longer. They will be testing this new process on one-mile of road.
Associate Commissioner Brian Baker also noted that the work-list does not represent all the road work taking place in Cass County. “Citizens should remember that MoDOT is working with the county on a number of bridge projects and state highway repairs. Cass County and MoDOt are working together to really take positive steps forward in improving our infrastructure. Good things are happening in Cass County.”
I was wondering, since there are a couple places I know of that are nearly impassable on a couple roads that are not on the list, can we drop by the county road department and borrow some barricades to close off these sections.
Id hate to see another car damaged (3 so far) and I know the commisioners are busy with green energy and other important issues.
Useful info, nice blog, thanks.