That project, the reclaim and overlay of a 5.1-mile section of Co. Rd. 11 between Hwy. 10 and Co. Rd. 4 at a cost of $2.2 million, was added to the 2014 project schedule last July.

 

But things have changed since then. Last week, Public Works Director John Menter told the county commissioners the project has to be revised because of issues with the base of the road. He said recent testing showed the base underneath the pavement was not strong enough to support a 10-ton road.

 

“Normally, the year before construction we have soil borings done that helps in our design. This project was added after we were done with all the borings on the other projects,” he said. “We just assumed based on what we’ve seen on some of the as-built drawings for this road, that there was a good solid base under this road. This new testing indicated that the base of this road was in a lot worse shape than what we anticipated.”

 

Menter said the goal was not only to construct a 10-ton road, but also have six-foot paved shoulders to accommodate the increased volumes of traffic.

 

“When we looked at what the width of the shoulders was and what we wanted them to be, it sent us back to the drawing board in terms of what the cost would be,” he said. “When they went back and looked at that along with the new information about the base, if we did that same stretch, it would nearly double the cost of the project, from $2.2 million to $3.8 million.”

 

Since the project would require reconditioning and not just a reclaim and overly, Menter said the two options were to increase the budget for the project or shorten the scope of the project.

 

Menter said the department’s recommendation was to shorten the project by about two miles to include the segment between Hwy. 10 and Co. Rd. 24.

 

“This keeps the budget approximately the same,” he said. “And it offers some advantage from a traffic disruption standpoint. We’re going to be doing a lot of work this summer that requires some detours in that area.”

 

Highway Engineer Rhonda Lewis said the department is also replacing the bridge on Co. Rd. 24, reclaiming and overlaying Co. Rd. 24 east to Co. Rd. 11, and doing a section of Co. Rd. 4 east of Co. Rd. 11.

 

“That really shuts down a whole lot of area all at the same time. So for us to have Co. Rd. 11 north of Co. Rd. 24 torn up really shuts things down,” she said. “We can stagger construction the best we can so they’re not all shut down at the same time. It’s really hard to get people through town if we do too much in one area.”

 

Menter said the second stage of the project, between Co. Rd. 24 to Co. Rd. 4, could possibly be done next year. He said in the meantime, the department would be applying for federal safety funding.

 

The next application for federal funding is due in November, with funds awarded in 2015 or 2016.

 

“It’s an opportunity to put in turn lanes at the intersection of Co. Rd. 11 and Co. Rd. 4 with someone else’s money,” he said. “That’s what our hope is.”

 

 

Menter said another project that needs to be pushed back is the reclaim and overlay of a section of Co. Rd. 7 near the St. Cloud Airport.

 

After reviewing the road, it was determined it should be re-aligned from a stop to a 40-mile per hour curve. Since that requires acquiring right-of-way and engineering part of the base, Menter said it made sense to push the project back a year.

 

“Over the course of the next year we can work out the right of way with the airport,” he said. “There’s also going to be some wetland delineations and permits involved. There’s no way to deliver it this year.”

 

The $480,000 budgeted for the project will also be pushed back to 2015. The revised cost has not yet been determined.