Ward County awards $7.68 million road contract, approves grader attachment and requests cost estimate for new subgrade stabilizer test

Ward County commissioners on May 20 voted to award a $7,677,639.82 contract to Knife River Materials for project SC5132(061) and authorized the chairman to sign the contract documents. The award was made during the regular meeting after Highway Engineer Dana Larsen presented the county’s highway agenda items. The project award was moved by Commissioner Rostad, seconded by Commissioner Schuler and approved on a unanimous roll-call vote. The resolution to award the contract was executed as presented. Larsen also introduced Tony Francis as the county’s new senior assistant county engineer and described a separate proposal to test a product from Lithified Technologies on 72nd Street SE, north of U.S. 2, to stabilize subgrades and potentially reduce aggregate and pavement thickness. Commissioners did not approve the test immediately; instead they asked staff to provide a cost estimate for the pilot before deciding whether to proceed. That request was recorded as a direction to staff rather than a formal approval or contract action. Separately, the commission approved a purchase of motorgrader-mounted packer/rollers from RDO for $27,600. The purchase motion was moved by Commissioner Schuler, seconded by Commissioner Merritt and passed on a roll-call vote. The highway agenda combined a formal contract award, a small equipment purchase, and the discussion of an experimental pavement-stabilizing product. The Knife River award is a formal, binding contract execution; the packer/roller purchase is an approved procurement; and the Lithified Technologies test remains under consideration pending a cost estimate from staff. Background: Ward County’s Highway Engineer presents projects and procurement requests to the commission for formal approval or direction. The county’s next steps on the Lithified Technologies proposal will be determined after staff returns with the requested cost estimate.