Engineer says bridge project is on schedule

BY BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Although construction will not begin until the spring or summer of 2017, the Ash Avenue bridge replacement project is progressing, Henry County Engineer Jake Hotchkiss told the county supervisors during the board?s regular meeting Tuesday morning.

?The project is on schedule,? Hotchkiss reported. ?The consultant?s plans are in and things are moving forward.?

A bid letting for the project is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2016. The bridge will be over Rock Creek.

In a related matter, supervisors approved four right-of-way easements from three property owners in connection with the Ash Avenue project.

Hotchkiss, whose report dominated the meeting, said snow removal from last weekend?s first snowfall went well.

?We sent trucks out both Saturday and Sunday, and sent out the motor graders Monday to clear what was left,? the engineer said. ?Roads in the southern part of the county were cleared over the weekend, and clearing of the roads in the northern part of the county was finished Monday.? He said the northern part of the county received considerably more snowfall than the southern portion.

Hotchkiss said workers had begun clearing trees at Faulkner?s Access in Oakland Mills on Nov. 18, but work was suspended later last week due to the predicted snowstorm. ?We will be working again on it this week,? he said.

Looking ahead, Hotchkiss said he is working on plans for improvements on County Road J20 from the Salem stub to Pickle Church. The project is included in his five-year construction plan. Work will include removal of a couple inches of existing asphalt and replacing it with a new asphalt overlay and also safety improvements.

The engineer told the supervisors that the county received federal reimbursement of $97,461.26 for the 320th Street riverbank project, which involved stabilizing the road and preventing erosion as the street runs parallel to the Skunk River.

Last week?s work by the secondary roads crew, according to Hotchkiss, included a lot of blading of gravel roads, hauling resurfacing rock and preparing equipment for the weekend snow.

In the supervisor sub-committee reports, Supervisor Marc Lindeen said the income level for the low-income home energy assistance program has been raised to 175 percent of the poverty level. For example, a one-person household with an annual income of under $20,598 would be eligible for assistance. For each additional household member, add $7,280 in annual income to arrive at the income threshold.

The board will meet again in regular session on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 9 a.m., in the Henry County Courthouse. The board will not meet Thursday, Nov. 26, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.