The Clearwater Township Board Monday approved the plans and specifications for the  reconstruction of the intersection of Illsley Ave. and 125th Street near the Suconnix State Wildlife Management Area.

 

Last year, the board agreed to realign the intersection because of safety issues. Vehicles approaching the intersection have very little visibility  because of curves and dips in the road and obstacles along the shoulders.

 

In August, Shane Nelson of Hakanson Anderson, the engineer for the project, outlined exactly what had to be done to correct the issue.

 

The proposed plans include fixing the sight distance vertically by cutting into the hills and filling in the low spots, and attempting to straighten out some of the curves within the 66-foot right-of-way.

 

At that meeting, Nelson said he would have the final plans ready for the January meeting.

 

Monday, Nelson said there was still one issue to be settled - seeding. He said originally, the contract for the construction project included re-seeding along the ditches and right-of-way. But he said he was contacted by the DNR about areas that would be affected in the Wildlife Management Area.

 

Nelson said the DNR didn’t want those areas to be planted with standard roadside grass mix contractors typically use.

 

“They would like it restored with native prairie grass,” said Nelson.

 

If that was the case, said Nelson, the plans would have to be changed to allow a separate contract for re-seeding about five to six acres by a company that specializes in native grass restoration.

 

Supervisor Scott Miller was concerned the prairie grass mixture might not work along the shoulders.

 

“Is that an acceptable mix for the roadways? Is it hardy enough for calcium chloride, salt or plowing?” he asked. “We don’t want to plant it and find out it doesn’t work and then we have to come back and do it again.”

 

“It should hold up,” said Maintenance Supervisor Mike Ludenia. “It’s basic prairie grass.”

 

The board agreed to remove the DNR land from the seeding area in the bid package. That will be done on a separate contract once the road project is completed.

 

Nelson asked the board if they had a desired date of completion for the project to be included when bids are requested.

 

“If a contractor doesn’t have a couple of other big jobs lined up, it’s possible they could start it in May and be done in early June,” Nelson told the board.

 

“Is there an advantage to giving them a longer time frame to complete the project?” asked Supervisor Bill Langenbacher.

 

Nelson said setting a specific completion date was better, otherwise the project could drag on.

 

“Sometimes if you’re more flexible with time frames you’ll get better bid prices,” he said. “But the concern with giving them a longer completion time, instead of eight guys on the job they may only put four guys.”

 

He said in the bid package, he had June 24 as the date of substantial completion.

 

Ludenia said he preferred to have it done as soon as possible, and he didn’t think starting in early May would be a problem because of the sandy soils.

“It’s a sand job, it’s not clay,” he said. “They know they can get in here and get it done.”

 

Nelson said the plan is to advertise for bids immediately and open the bids at the Feb. 8 township meeting. He said the board could announce the bids but not award them that night. That would give him time to review each bid in detail.

 

“We normally go back and prepare the bid tabulation by the next day,” he said. “We’ll provide those results to you right away so you’ll have the information you need to make a decision.”

 

Township Clerk Jean Just said the board could call for a special meeting in late February to award the bids if they didn’t want to wait until the March regular meeting.

 

That’s a decision the board will make once they see the bid amounts, said Supervisor Miller.

 

In other action the board:

 

• Set spring clean up day for May 21 from 8 a.m until noon;

 

• Set the board of audit for Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.