County experimenting with new product on bridge abutments

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Henry County is using a new product to stabilize bridge abutments and fill voids under pavement, Jake Hotchkiss, county engineer, told county supervisors Tuesday.

Hotchkiss said Uretek is a company that utilizes a foam product for stabilization and it was used on the bridge going over the railroad near Rome (old Highway 34) yesterday.

?We?re trying this product to fix abutments and filling voids,? Hotchkiss said. ?There is no expansion with this product. I would like to do a couple more bridges (with the product) but will have to check the budget first.?

In other construction news, the engineer said the 220th Street project ? removal of six miles of existing pavement and reconstruction of the road from the Highway 218 overpass to Racine Avenue ? has been progressing well.

Ten crossroad pipes have been completed to date (five more have to be installed) and two miles of pavement have been crushed.

Faulkner?s Access, a project that has seen intermittent work since last fall, is nearly finished, Hotchkiss said. He said the road was rocked yesterday, and signs are being worked on currently in addition to the installation of additional guard rail.

Once the signs and guard rail are completed, the road will be opened to traffic.

Secondary-road crews are busy adding resurface rock, Hotchkiss continued. He said 23 miles of gravel roads per territory receive resurface rock annually. There are seven territories in the county.

In addition to adding resurfacing rock to gravel roads, the secondary-roads department also replaced a crossroad pipe on 270th Street last week and installed an entrance near the pipe.

?Last week was a busy week,? Hotchkiss noted. ?We are putting in a lot of hours with the inspection crew.?

Supervisors also approved 10 self-applied (from residents) dust control permits.

Greg Moeller had the only supervisor subcommittee report. Moeller said he attended a recent meeting of the Great River Housing Trust Fund.

Board members of the trust fund amended the policy on upper-story development. The funds are used for developers wanting to develop upper-story residential units in business districts.

The amended policy said typically there will be commercial space on the first floor and the trust fund will assist with the creation or substantial rehabilitation of units on the upper floors.

A developer can apply for $25,000 or 50 percent of needed rehabilitation costs per unit, whichever is less. The total housing fund award cannot exceed $100,000 per project per round of funding.

All units receiving assistance must be rented to tenants at or below 80 percent of the Department of Housing and Urban Development?s published income limits. The policy says rents must be reasonable for the area market and low-income families. A 10-percent local match is required.

Great River Housing Trust Fund board members were also reminded that the City of Mt. Pleasant plans to build a spec house at 710 E. Henry St., in Mt. Pleasant. The city purchased an existing house at the site last year and had the house demolished. Cost of the new house cannot exceed $140,000 and the house must meet low- to moderate-income guidelines.

Supervisors meet again in regular session tomorrow (Thurs.) at 9 a.m. in the Henry County Courthouse.