Pennington County agrees to plan to gravel narrow Saint Joseph Street, considers road-district transfer

Residents of Silver City asked the Pennington County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 7 to fix long-neglected Saint Joseph Street; the board directed highway staff to draw up a plan, cost estimate and transition timeline and return at the first November meeting.

Multiple residents said the roughly 10–14-foot-wide section of Saint Joseph (Saint Joe) Street has not had major maintenance in about 10–12 years and can be difficult to access. Highway Superintendent Joe (surname on file) told commissioners the road is narrow and in places obstructed by buildings and trees; the county had deferred maintenance while a weight-restricted bridge blocked heavy equipment, but that bridge was replaced two to three years ago. Staff estimated the unorganized road tax fund that covers such roads totals about $2.9 million for 2026 and noted the county maintains about 450 miles of secondary roads from that levy.

Highway staff gave a rough estimate for gravel: current bid pricing is about $13.50 per ton; a 24-foot roadway requires roughly 1,600 tons of gravel for a 2-inch lift, producing an illustrative cost of about $21,600 per mile for that lift. Staff said Saint Joseph Street is narrower than 24 feet (roughly 10–14 feet) and that work would likely cost less per linear mile because of the narrower width, but establishing drainage and access may raise costs.

Commissioners and staff discussed the option of helping Silver City form a road district so residents take responsibility for long-term maintenance. Under state law and county practice, forming a road district would shift the tax revenue into a local levy for that district rather than the county’s unorganized road tax. Highway staff said a common commission compromise is to bring the road to a fair condition, then transfer responsibility to a road district while offering technical assistance: for Silver City, staff proposed a transition period of about a year to allow a district to form, or for residents to arrange for local maintenance.

Residents Victoria and William Donahue specifically requested that an additional, unmaintained segment east of Sherman Street be put on the county maintained list; staff said the county maintains about the first 2,500 feet but the section beyond that is not currently maintained. The board asked highway staff to return with separate cost estimates: (1) to bring the county-maintained portion up to standard and (2) what it would cost to bring Miss Donahue's segment (the currently unmaintained portion) into the maintained system.

The board did not take a formal vote to fund full reconstruction on the spot; instead commissioners endorsed the staff plan to return with a detailed estimate and a transition plan in November. If the commission later approves construction, staff said they would do the work with “minimal disturbance” and aim to coordinate access and notifications to residents.

Commissioners also discussed incentives the county could offer to help start new road districts (seed funding, one-time assistance for election and publication costs, or contracting services to reduce initial contractor costs) and asked staff to explore policy options for incentivizing viable road-district formation.