Secondary Roads reports Tamer Road reopening and Highway 99 progress, warns of underlying concrete issues

Des Moines County Secondary Roads briefed the Board of Supervisors on July 1 about several active projects, including a road reopening, ongoing paving on Highway 99, and near-term expectations for bridge and road reopenings.

Brian (Secondary Roads) told the board that Tamer Road opened on Friday, earlier than anticipated, and thanked residents for patience during the work. Work on Highway 99 is continuing; contractors resumed operations after rain, and county staff said they expect the mainline asphalt surface to be completed in about a week, although ancillary work such as approaches and shoulder work remains.

Staff cautioned that Highway 99 is an overlay over older pavement and that underlying concrete sections have already “blown up” in several places during recent hot weather. Contractors have ground and patched affected spots to restore passability; county staff said that such failures reflect the condition of the existing pavement beneath the overlay and may reappear.

The board heard that Danville Road may open in about two weeks if contractors mobilize and meet their working-day schedules; a separate Garrett Bridge project remains behind schedule and is not expected to open on the same timeline. Crews painted center lines on 7 Ponds Road and deferred edge-line striping while county crews completed shouldering; staff said they may revisit the road in the fall. A survey plat for a Public Health parking-lot split was circulated to supervisors and county staff for review.

Supervisors asked follow-up questions; staff reiterated that project schedules can be affected by weather and contract working days and that liquidated damages are a motivating factor for some contractors.

No formal board action was taken on the road items at the July 1 meeting; the updates were informational.