LaSalle County approves road contracts, bridge funding supplement and new equipment

LaSalle County board members on the highway agenda approved a package of contract awards, intergovernmental agreements and equipment purchases Thursday that the county said will fund resurfacing, bridge repairs and routine maintenance ahead of peak construction season.

The board authorized the chairman to sign a joint-purchasing agreement to buy rock salt off the state contract (resolution 25-13) and approved a supplemental appropriation of $180,234.44 to complete a bridge removal and replacement project on County Highway 9 (resolution 25-15). The board also approved intergovernmental agreements with the City of Streeter and the City of Earlville to perform street work in coordination with county projects (resolutions 25-14 and 25-18).

Why it matters: The awards and authorizations commit county and municipal funds for pavement, bridge and maintenance work and clear several state-let projects for construction. County staff said the actions shape the schedule and funding for projects that will be built this summer and affect local road access, truck routing and materials procurement.

Major awards and approvals included: - Countywide cape seal program awarded to AC Pavement Striping for $2,202,711.89; a higher bid from Microsurfacing Inc. was not selected. - Microsurfacing and localized resurfacing and striping contracts: Precision Pavement Marking won striping work at $157,914.20; Diamond Vogel won the paint/coatings contract at $233,595.00. - Several state-let projects were concurred for award, including bridge and resurfacing work reported as below engineer’s estimates (examples cited: deconstruction low bids of $852,364.47 for a Streeter bridge; $1,867,999.94 for County Highway 4 from County Highway 15 to the Grundy County line; and other state-let awards to Advanced Asphalt Company and Deconstruction at amounts reported in the meeting). - County pickup truck purchase awarded to Shimmer (Mendota) — a Chevy — for $37,754.70 (bid tabulation: Shimmer Ford $40,778.10; Shimmer Mendota $37,754.70; Bob Maxey Ford $43,025.00). - The board approved the purchase of a road-whitener/shoulder box (loader-mounted unit) at $55,005.93, to replace an older unit the county stopped using because of frequent mechanical failures. County staff said the new machine is hydraulic and plugs into existing loader hydraulics and should improve efficiency and reduce labor compared with the older, self-powered unit.

On salt and materials, county staff reported the system used about 2,500 tons of salt this winter, received a recent delivery of 500 tons and currently has about 1,600 tons on order. "We took 1 delivery of 500 tons of salt this week. So we are salt bin filled back up," said Ryan, staff member. The board approved giving the chairman authority to purchase rock salt off the state contract for the 2025–2026 contract year.

The meeting also included routine approvals: a motion to accept minutes of the previous meeting, approval of monthly bills totaling $62,467.31, and several utility and right-of-way permits for work by ComEd, Frontier Communications and other utilities along county highways.

Board members briefly discussed seasonal low-posting maps that determine which county highways are weight-posted during spring thaw, and staff outlined ongoing and upcoming work, including timber pile bridge repairs in Eden, Farm Ridge and Groveland townships and culvert replacements on County Highway 15. Staff said several projects using federal funds go through state letting, and for bridge projects the typical federal/local split is 80/20 with municipalities covering the local 20% on the two bridge projects noted in the meeting.

Votes at a glance — selected actions and outcomes: the board carried motions to authorize the chairman to sign the state rock-salt purchasing agreement (resolution 25-13); to enter intergovernmental agreements with Streeter (resolution 25-14) and Earlville (resolution 25-18); to appropriate $180,234.44 in supplemental motor fuel tax funds for the County Highway 9 bridge replacement (resolution 25-15); to designate a truck route and accept reimbursement (resolution 25-16); to enter a professional services agreement with Hutchison Engineering for County Highway 32 bridge work (resolution 25-17); to award county bids for pickup truck, striping, paint/coatings and cape-seal program as listed above; and to purchase the loader-mounted road whitener. One township resurfacing bid (South Ottawa Township) was rejected after it came in above the township’s available funding.

Board members who spoke in the meeting included Steve, James, Joe, Bill, Tom, Dave, Terry and highway staff including Brian, Ryan and Mariah. The county’s highway staff answered questions about storage capacity for salt, the expected duration of a bridge-overlay closure (about two months for one rehabilitation project using a latex-modified concrete overlay), the procurement method for vehicles and equipment, and the requirement that federally funded projects go through state letting and invoicing.

Looking ahead, staff said they will proceed with scheduled lettings and construction as weather permits and will bring forward any additional adjustments or funding requests needed to complete projects.