It looks like Washington Avenue will be the most costly project for the county next year.
Becker County Engineer Jim Olson presented the five-year road plan and an update on SMART projects at the county commissioner meeting Tuesday morning.
A close second will be a bridge project on County Road 7 near Lake Park.
For the proposed 2015 road projects, the county will receive about $3 million in state aid from the gas tax, $850,000 in other state aid, $650,000 in county road and bridge funds, $1.1 in federal monies, $3 million in SMART taxes (which includes 2014 also) and $1.3 million in other various funds.
Many of the projects for 2015 will be in the eastern part of the county. They include resurfacing of county roads 33, 36, 43, 45 and 47. The widening of County Road 14, base stabilization and dust control on County Road 145, grading and resurfacing of County Road 118 and right of way purchase along county roads 21 and 26 will also happen.
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Those projects are estimated at about $3.8 million. The Washington Avenue and County Road 7 bridge projects are estimated at about $5.8 million.
“Our road selection isn’t random,” Olson said. “We look at pavement age, pavement condition.”
He said that for many of the projects, the county tries to pair neighboring projects to get a lower bid from construction crews. “We can attack some of those narrow roads for safety,” Commissioner Barry Nelson said of some of the more rural roads that are very narrow.
While Olson listed about $2 million in SMART tax money for the Washington Avenue project, that doesn’t mean that’s how much will be allotted for the project. The county board will decide that when the project is rebid and new cost estimates come in.
Several members of the Detroit Lakes City Council and staff attend the county board’s public meeting Tuesday to ask the county to support the project, extending it from Highway 10 to Willow Street.
Washington Avenue is the focal point of the downtown, where many people come to do their shopping.
“The more opportunities to get people to town, the more sales tax, the more SMART money,” said Detroit Lakes Alderman Bruce Imholte.
“We appreciate your support,” Alderman Jamie Marks Erickson said. “We couldn’t do it without you.”
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“This is hinging on the collection of $3 million,” Olson said of the plan for 2015. That includes about $1 million from this year and $2 million from next year.
County Commissioner Larry Knutson said he was not in favor of spending $2 million in SMART money for the Washington Avenue project.
Imholte also asked the board to keep multi-use trails in mind when it comes to road projects, even if it means just widening the shoulder of the road to make it more accessible to bikers and walkers.
“We’re enhancing that bridge for the next 50 years,” Nelson said of the County Road 7 bridge by Lake Park, adding that it will be widened to accommodate the Heartland Trail and snowmobilers.
Follow Pippi Mayfield on Twitter at @PippiMayfield .
