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Steele County awards $1.11 million seal-coat contract, approves local repairs and gravel plan
Summary
County commissioners approved a recommendation to award the county'wide chip-seal contract (with alternates) for about $1.11 million, authorized a $14,352 repair quote for a dip on County Road 11, and approved a 33.5-mile gravel plan to go out to bid with a completion incentive.
Steele County commissioners voted to accept the low bid for a multi-road chip-seal project and to move forward with planned road repairs and a gravel resurfacing map.
The county'recommended award for chip sealing and related alternates totals about $1,110,000; staff recommended proceeding with Asphalt Surface Tech Corp to complete seal coating, optional fog-seal alternates and optional white edge lines as bid. Commissioners also approved a $14,352 quote from Tri-State to repair the dip on County Road 11 and approved a county gravel map covering roughly 33.5 miles that will be advertised for bids, with award planned at the June meeting.
County staff told commissioners the engineer'estimate for the chip-seal package had been about $1.4 million; bids came in lower, leaving roughly $300,000 available for other pavement projects or alternates. The consulting engineer described the fog-seal alternate as "a matter of preference" that helps embed chips and can extend surface life; alternates for fog seal and edge striping added between about $50,000 and $70,000 depending on segment lengths. Commissioners recorded that the courthouse area was not included in the current seal-coat contract and asked staff to get a separate price for that location.
Commissioners discussed timing and incentives for the gravel work. Staff said the gravel program typically covers about 33 to 34 miles annually; the commission approved the map and directed staff to advertise, with bid awards expected in June. The board agreed to continue a completion incentive paid to contractors (historically about $0.25 per yard) to encourage timely finishing; commissioners discussed a target performance date in mid-July (July 15) though calendar details were left for staff to finalize.
Road department scheduling and labor were also discussed: summer hires and crack sealing priorities were outlined (crack sealing and milling on key corridors, schedule shifts to longer weekday shifts and some Fridays). Commissioners approved proceeding with the County Road 11 repair and with the chip-seal award; staff said they would finalize and sign notice-of-award paperwork and start contract paperwork immediately.
Next steps: staff will finalize contracts with the awarded seal-coat firm, obtain a price for courthouse seal work separately, publish the gravel bid package and return with bid awards at the June meeting.
