By Tracy Overstreet
tracy.overstreet@theindependent.com

Hall County Public Works Director Casey Sherlock submitted a $570,000 one-year plan that has 19 projects nine of which are directly aimed at replacing bridges that had low sufficiency ratings in inspections last year.

"We'll see what happens at budget time and build what we can," Sherlock said.

Last year, the county spent $750,000 on asphalt and $200,000 on projects. This year, he's proposing to spend about two-thirds of the funds on projects and one-third on asphalt replacement.

"If I get $1 million (earmarked in the county budget), I have to balance that between structures and asphalt," Sherlock said. "Last year was asphalt, this year is projects."

Front and center are permanent repairs to two bridges closed last fall that were reopened with temporary repairs.

Those bridges are at White Cloud Road near 190th and just south of Old Potash Highway on 190th. Both bridges closed in September. The one near Old Potash reopened the same month, while the White Cloud bridge reopened in October.

Much of what Sherlock has proposed is replacing the bad bridges with box culverts or reinforced drainage pipes. The culverts and pipes cost less and in many cases have a good history of lasting a long time.

Sherlock said it's a good trade-off in order to get more bridges replaced in a timely manner. The state ordered weight restrictions on 39 Hall County bridges last year and another 30 bridges were flagged as being in need of repair or replacement.

"More than half of our bad-condition bridges I have in the plan to get it taken care of," Sherlock said. "We're making some good progress."

All in all, Hall County has 186 bridges longer than 20 feet and 240 bridges shorter than 20 feet.

Also included in this year's road improvement plan is regrading portions of One-R Road, Binfield Road, 60th Road just east of Alda to connect to Highway 30, Monitor Road and Engleman Road.

Sherlock is proposing to replace the 1970s-circa asphalt in the Saddle Club Addition subdivision of Arabian Circle, Bronco Road and Palomino Place. A half-mile of proposed paving on Buffalo Road near Platte River Drive west of Doniphan would only be completed if a paving district was created with the road costs to be assessed back to property owners there, Sherlock said.

He also wants to complete some safety projects namely, creating a 90-degree alignment of Shoemaker Island Road and Alda Road along the Platte River and straightening Guenther Road where a gooseneck curve now exists near Alda Road.

"It's dangerous there's a sharp curve there that people not familiar with the road could miss," Sherlock said of the stretch of Guenther Road.

The county plan also includes a brand new dirt road, approximately a quarter-mile stretch of what would be Blaine Street, to gain access to what are now isolated lands. Lawrence Kroeger had requested access previously, but no action had yet been taken because the road on a section line would cross land owned by Kroeger and John and Patsy Ellis.

What's not in the plan is new paving along South Locust Street near the Hall/Adams County line. IDoniphan has routinely requested that paving for more than five years in order to improve the farm-to-market routes and school routes for Doniphan-Trumbull buses and students.

"The Hall County Public Works Committee has directed me to continue replacing the terribly deficient structures where needed and to adhere to the committee's policy to not construct any new miles of asphalt until the maintenance of the asphalt miles the county currently has is under control," Sherlock wrote in a letter to the Regional Planning Commission, which will review the road plan Wednesday night.

Traffic counts show that the South Locust traffic has held steady over the last three years, with about 165 vehicles per day, Sherlock said. Those same counts showed that the east/west traffic on Barrows Road which crosses South Locust actually had more traffic. Barrows Road at South Locust is carrying about 300 a day, he said.

The low traffic count, coupled with Adams County's plan to not pave South Locust into Adams County, has lowered the paving priority there, Sherlock said.

The Regional Planning Commission will review road plans by both Hall County and Grand Island during its 6 p.m. Wednesday meeting at Grand Island City Hall, 100 E. First.

The county's road plan will then advance to the Hall County supervisors for a public hearing at 10 a.m. Feb. 19 during the board's regular business meeting at the Hall County Administration Building, 121 S. Pine St.