Public works presents six‑year transportation update; public input flagged Rosslyn emergency-access concerns

Public works presented the county’s six‑year transportation plan update as an informational item and sought questions from the Board of County Commissioners.

Josh Frederickson said the county prepares the plan annually to cover the current fiscal year plus five years and that the plan must be adopted before the county finalizes its budget. “One of the things that we do need to make sure we do is adopt this prior to, document budget,” Frederickson said.

Public outreach for the update ran on the county website, the board’s Facebook page and via a press release between Aug. 18 and Sept. 5; staff said it received two public comments. Both comments raised concerns related to emergency access and fire-hazard evacuation routes in the Roslyn area; staff said those issues may be more appropriate for hazard‑mitigation planning or emergency‑services work than the transportation plan itself.

Frederickson said the plan this year shows a smaller project list because staff selected projects that match currently available funding. He underscored that routine maintenance — chip seal, crack patching, pothole repair and bridge work — is not shown in the capital list because those activities come from maintenance budgets.

On a separate point about the I‑90 corridor, Frederickson said the packet lists seed design dollars — cited as $50,000 — so a county project can be placed on the State Transportation Improvement Program and become eligible for congressionally directed spending when application windows open. He characterized that entry as a way to keep the county project visible for grant and federal-appropriations opportunities.

The item was presented for information only; staff said they would continue to pursue bridge and surface-transportation grants and return the plan for formal adoption as required by county and state rules.

No formal action was taken at the study session.