Road commission cites countywide culvert assessment and material experiments to cut costs

County road commission staff told the Ways and Means committee they completed a countywide culvert assessment this spring and have been sharing the assessment results with townships. The representative said the assessment helps avoid unexpected culvert failures and reduces road closures. "We've finished up our countywide culvert assessment," he said.

The commission described experimenting with alternative materials (structural aluminum plate and plastic culverts) and emphasized using internal crews to assemble and install components when possible to avoid contractor markups and unneeded bid line items. The commission argued that including conservative line items like dewatering in contractor bids can inflate costs even when the work does not require those measures; by using in-house estimates and only charging for dewatering when required, the county can save money for townships and residents.

Committee members asked what materials were working; staff said options are limited by use case but the approach has reduced costs and provided a new asset-management tool for planning.