Significant county road improvements ahead
Many rural Chase County residents can look forward to improved roads thanks to upcoming projects.
The first step of work on Avenue 331, commonly known as Junk Yard Road, was completed last week with a two-inch overlay of asphalt. In August the driveways off the road will be completed and another mile of asphalt added.
During their June 9 meeting, Chase County Commissioners Jacci Brown, Dennis Kunnemann and Chuck Vette were joined by Brad Foote and County Highway Superintendent Jeff Tidyman to discuss paving the road into Foote’s Imperial Beef feedlot.
Because of the amount of traffic in and out of the feedlot, county workers currently grade the road several nights a week. The commissioners estimated it costs $50,000 a year just to maintain that stretch of road. Tidyman added that a better road will lead to less maintenance for the truckers who haul in and out.
The group tossed around several possibilities to pay for the road. Foote has worked with counties in Kansas to pay for road improvements and is willing to contribute to this, as well.
Foote suggested the county pay for 25% of the improvement costs and he could finance the rest and receive a county tax abatement in return.
Kunnemann said it was an interesting concept, but was concerned about what the loss of revenue would do to the county levy.
The commissioners wanted to discuss the situation with Nebraska Association of County Officials’ Larry Dix and Jon Cannon before making any decisions.
The county-maintained Road 734, west of Champion, also continues to be a concern.
Because of the dips in the road Brown said an overlay won’t solve any problems. Tidyman suggested a core sample to see how thick the pavement is. He also said the joints in the road got water in them and need to be fixed before any other repairs are made.
The commissioners also continued discussions of conditional use permit (CUP) extensions.
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