Newly paved E-45 damaged by vandalism

     After much of the County Road E-45 paving project had been completed, someone chose to disrupt the project late last week by driving on top of the newly paved roadway.

     County Engineer Derek Snead informed the Board of Supervisors of the issue during their Nov. 7 meeting. He said the situation took place on Friday, Nov. 2, somewhere between 9 and 10 p.m.

     “A small truck drove around the barricades and onto the pavement,” he said. The incident occurred west of Olin.

     The person drove 3,400 feet down one lane, stopped 200-300 feet before the end of the pavement, and turned around and headed back the same distance. In essence, Snead said there are tire tracks in 6,500 feet of newly poured concrete.

     “The concrete on the east end was fresher than the concrete on the west end,” he said.

     In order to rectify the situation, Snead said the contractor (Cedar Valley Construction) would grind 300-400 feet of the roadway to smooth out the tracks at a cost of between $30,000 and $40,000. (A complete replacement of the pavement affected would cost around $180,000.) The impressions are about a quarter-inch deep.

     “We’ll grind the worst spots and tidy it up the best we can and grin and bare it,” Snead said. Unfortunately, the area impacted was the longest stretch of pavement and the smoothest of the project to date.

     Structurally speaking, this incident did not deter the road at all. However, in some areas, Snead said the impressions will never go away; they’ll always be visible.

     Supervisor Joe Oswald asked whether Cedar Valley would be liable for what happened. Snead said it was vandalism, pure and simple.

     He said he is working with the Sheriff’s Office to hopefully determine who did it and hold them accountable. Snead said they do not have any leads.

     “Greg took a lot of pictures,” he said. The Sheriff also flew their drone overhead for aerial shots as well.

     Snead said landowners along that portion of the road were also contacted about the matter, with no success.

     With the mainline open to local traffic only, Snead said much of the finishing work would be completed next spring.

     “There will be lots of grading and shouldering to do,” he said.

     After Nov. 7, Cedar Valley had 11 working days left, with $2,000 a day in liquidated damages.

In other county business:

     • County Auditor Janine Sulzner informed the board that the City of Wyoming is working on an urban renewal plan for the entire city. A new Dollar General is expected to be built in the near future.

     • Supervisor Ned Rohwedder said as of Dec. 26, the county landfill will be increasing the price of tires from 12 cents per pound to 15 cents. They will also limit the number of tires to 100 per business per month.

     • The board received four bids for renovations of the Environmental Health and Public Health offices at the Broadway Place Annex. The bids ranged from $10,680 to $21,795. They awarded the project to Monti Home Improvement with the lowest bid.

     • Jones County Veteran’s Affairs will be closed six to eight weeks in late November through early December due to medical leave.

     • The board approved the hiring of Bridgett Postel as the assistant office manager for Secondary Roads, at a salary of $42,500.

     Postel’s father, Todd, is the assistant engineer. The board asked whether this would violate the county’s nepotism policy. Snead said it would not. Her direct supervisor would be Roberta Robertson, office manager, then Snead.