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Residents and road foreman press Brown County to pilot Goldfinch Road widening; commissioners say engineering and bid rules will shape next steps
Summary
Keith Grama presented a proposal to widen shoulders on Goldfinch Road and reshape ditches using clay fill and local contractor work. Commissioners expressed support for a pilot section but said procurement, engineering and potential easement and utility work must be resolved before funding can be committed.
Keith Grama asked Brown County commissioners to approve a pilot project to widen shoulders and reshape ditches on a narrow stretch of Goldfinch Road, proposing a phased trial with a county contribution (Grama suggested $50,000 as a notional trial budget) and local contractor involvement.
Grama described a method that would leave the existing pavement intact while adding shoulders to reach an approximately 30-foot overall road width in places that currently measure as narrow as about 21 feet. His plan calls for removing sod, reshaping ditches to a gentler 3:1 slope, importing clay to fill low sections and compacting the new shoulder material so the county could later include the widened profile in routine surface maintenance (chip seal or similar) when scheduled.
Commissioners welcomed the concept but stressed procedural and fiscal constraints. They said the county must follow procurement and bidding rules when work or project cost exceeds specified thresholds (the meeting cited a $50,000 threshold for sealed bids and formal procurement steps). County staff and the commission flagged other prerequisites: easements or temporary construction easements from landowners along the corridor where fill must be placed, engineering and survey work to define limits and stationing, coordination with utilities (several power poles and a narrow bridge were identified as design complications), and questions about who would own or maintain modified approaches at narrow bridges.
Commissioners suggested limiting an initial pilot to a short section (a quarter- to half-mile) or the first mile south of County Road 270, and to perform work after harvest when agricultural access is not impeded. They asked Grama and county road staff to solicit equipment- and hourly-rate proposals (excavator, dozer, hauling) that could be compared as informal bids, to talk with the county attorney and engineers about procurement and easements, and to return to the commission with refined costs and a recommended scope.
Why it matters: the Goldfinch Road corridor is narrow and has a history of accidents, multiple commissioners and a nearby resident said; widening shoulders could reduce the risk of vehicles leaving the roadway and give agricultural equipment safer clearance.
What was not decided: the commission did not commit county funds for construction at the meeting. Commissioners said they are open to a limited pilot if engineers and the county attorney confirm the procurement path and if estimated costs remain within available budgets.
Direct quote (presenter): "What I would propose ... is that we would come to some kind of agreement and say, okay, well, we got $50,000 ... let's try a section of this. I would donate my time to manage the project," (Keith Grama).
The commission asked staff to return with procurement guidance, engineer input and a formal project scope if the pilot is to proceed in the coming months.
