County engineer outlines McLeod County five‑year highway construction plan and funding sources

County Engineer Andrew presented the McLeod County five‑year highway construction plan and a countywide pavement management overview to the Board of Commissioners.

Andrew told the board McLeod County maintains about 390 miles of roadway, including approximately 255 miles of county‑state‑aid highways. He summarized funding sources — the Highway User Distribution Fund (fuel tax, motor vehicle sales tax and related revenues), county state aid, and a half‑percent local option sales tax enacted in 2020 — and reported that the county’s 2024 county state aid allocation was about $6.7 million, of which roughly 60% ($4.07 million) is typically earmarked for construction and 40% for maintenance. He said local option sales tax receipts have risen from roughly $2.4 million to about $3.2 million annually in recent years.

Andrew explained pavement‑management priorities and unit cost estimates used in project planning: sealcoats at about $27,000 per mile (8–10 year life), minor bituminous rehabs averaging roughly $175,000 per mile (10–12 year life), major bituminous rehabs about $360,000 per mile (15–20 year life), concrete overlays roughly $700,000–$750,000 per mile (25–40 year life), rural reconstruction approximately $1.7 million per mile, and urban reconstruction around $3.2 million per mile. He emphasized the cost‑effectiveness of timely preventive maintenance versus later reconstruction.

For 2025, Andrew listed two principal projects: a concrete overlay on County Road 1 from County Road 202 to the north county line, and reconstruction of Hennepin Avenue from 13th Street to 20th Street in Glencoe. He said the county will include MnDOT projects on planning maps, noting MnDOT will construct crossovers on U.S. 212 this year to support a 2026 bridge replacement. Andrew described the 2026 program as more comprehensive, with a federally funded concrete overlay on County Road 18 (funded through regional solicitation/ATP) and several minor and major bituminous reha‑bilitation projects.

Board members asked about prioritization methods. Andrew summarized the county’s methodology: biennial pavement inspections using MnDOT’s pavement inspection vehicle (ride data, surface defects, crack types and counts), traffic levels, priority routes, pavement age and crash data. He said the county groups projects by region to improve bid pricing and may collect additional traffic counts where state data are insufficient.

Commissioners raised local concerns: pedestrian crossing and lighting on County Road 1 in Winstead; potential changes in traffic patterns on County Road 33 due to adjacent roundabout projects; bridge funding uncertainty given the state bridge bond program’s funding status; and timing for specific township bridge projects. Andrew said the state bridge bond program is currently out of money and that county bridge work depends on legislative action or internal reprioritization. He noted one bridge (Virgin Township over Buffalo Creek) is in the plan and eligible under the town bridge program.

Andrew closed by noting that the plan’s first two years are more certain and that later years are subject to change based on funding and board priorities. The board will incorporate the five‑year plan into a broader systemwide transportation plan that will address long‑term maintenance and potential widening projects.