Increased funding needed for improved paved roads

     With the cost of construction rising, how likely is it that paved roads in Jones County will be revived?

   Supervisor John Schlarmann previously asked County Engineer Derek Snead to investigate just how much it would cost to repave the most dire roads in the county, knowing that several are beyond their intended lifespan.

   The Jones County paved system is predominantly PCC (Portland cement concrete).

   “Typically, PCC roadway, especially the ones that were designed in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, they were hopeful for 40 or 50 years,” noted Snead. “We’ve stretched that longer than that. Almost all of them we’re hoping to get at least 50 (years).”

   County Road X-64 was the first PCC pavement in the county. Snead said it’s next on the list to be repaved at some point. During the Secondary Road public hearing in December, X-64 was listed as a Fiscal Year 2024 overlay project, at a cost of $4 million.

   “It’s going to be approaching that 60-year range,” said Snead. “It’s beyond its life. Once it gets above the 50-year range, you start running into issues with more cracking and more faulting, more maintenance issues. It can even get to the point where it’s so broken up that an overlay option doesn’t become a very viable option anymore.”

   He said at that point, a full tear-out road project is needed, which only increases the construction costs.

   “You really want to get at it before it reaches that stage,” urged Snead.

   Jones County has 35 miles of roads that are over 50 years old. There is an additional 40 miles that are between 40 and 50 years old.

   “So we’ve got 75 miles that we’d very much like to either cover up or replace in the next 10 years,” summarized Snead.

   In terms of funding streams for road projects, Jones County estimates roughly $1.1 million for FM (farm-to-market) roadways and $364,000 from the federal STP (Surface Transportation Program). That’s about $1.5 million a year for the paved road system.

   Snead said that amount just covers simple paving. It doesn’t cover grading, pipe work, driveway work, “all of those other things that typically come up” during a road project.

   “Between shouldering, furnishing the concrete for an overlay, replacing the concrete, putting the bond-breaker down between the old and new pavement, incorporating subdrain into the project (maintenance cost savings), it runs us about $550,000 per mile (with current estimates) if you factor in an additional $50,000 per mile for mobilization, paint, traffic control, all of your miscellaneous items,” explained Snead. “We’re running about $600,000 per mile with shouldering and concrete overlay right now.”

   With 75 miles of paved roadway at $600,000 per mile, Secondary Roads would need $45 million over the next 10 years.

   “It doesn’t get us ahead of the curve. It doesn’t do anything else than essentially pave what we need to pave,” said Snead. “Every single year, more roads get put into the pot. On average, we need to be replacing approximately 2.8 miles of roadway every year.”

   That average would require $1.7 million in funding on an annual basis.

   “So every year’s allocation isn’t even equating to what we need to be replacing on an annual basis, totally forgetting about what we’re short of,” said Snead.

   In addition, the county maintains 22 miles of HMA (hot mix asphalt) roadways, for a total paved system of 163 miles.

   In the ‘60s and ‘70s, when development ramped up, many of the county’s gravel roads were paved as more traffic started traveling on them.

   “We paved a bunch of roads, that if we were to look at the roadway system right now, there is no way we would ever pave some of those roads,” said Snead. “Some of our paved system currently has 20 vehicles a day. I could go through a dozen roads that you guys would never want us to repave again, but they’re paved now. We’re in that situation. It’s hard to justify a large portion of that system.”

   Schlarmann shared that when he first ran for election, he talked to several rural residents and farmers who had concerns about the condition of roads.

   “I asked them if they’d be willing to pay a little more tax if they knew that money was going to the roads. The people I talked to said yes,” offered Schlarmann. “So if the state and federal government isn’t helping us, are we going to need to do something?”

   The current Secondary Road five-year construction program calls for 16.4 miles of paving, which, Snead pointed out, is above the 2.8 annual estimate.

   “Right now, as far as where large chunks of money could be expended and where we’re falling the farthest behind, no matter what our lax levy is, it’s not near enough funding to make up for that shortfall,” Snead said of the funding.

   Even with the federal infrastructure bill, Snead said Jones County is expected to see very little of that funding.

   “Not only are we getting a very limited amount of additional funding with this new funding bill, it very likely will not even cover the inflation of costs to put a product out,” he pointed out.

   While the state’s gas tax law has been fruitful, Snead said as more vehicles start relying less and less on fuel, that gas tax becomes obsolete.

   “That is our largest revenue source,” he said. “The more that these (electric) cars are put in place, the more efficient these vehicles become, the less they need to stop at the pump, the less funding we get.”

   The rising cost of fuel is also keeping more and more people at home again, much like the pandemic.

   “It’s a very bleak outlook on what type of funding we’ll receive in the future.”