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Stephenson County staff outline bridge, paving and safety projects and seek federal grants
Summary
County public-works staff described multiple road projects — including paving, a bridge, weather-station pilots and intersection safety upgrades — and said they will submit applications for federal safety funding and report back on flagged safety issues.
Speaker 1, a roads/public-works staff member, briefed the board on a package of county transportation projects and related grant work. "We'll be starting on May 22 at Green Lam Road," Speaker 1 said of construction sequencing, and later described a bridge project, paving schedule and several safety-focused grant applications the county will pursue for the FY2027 funding cycle.
The presentation covered planned pavement lifts and overlays, a multistage bridge job, intersection improvements and a package of safety signage and curve treatments. Speaker 1 said one paving section runs "from just West of Flansburg to that, solar solar farm," and described a required curing period before overlay. The speaker also recounted a recent low-bid outcome for a project: "Northern contracting was a little better. 47,000. Engineers estimate 850,000. So it's only engineers estimate, but, the grant was for $1,000,000."
Staff described two safety-related grant opportunities and an approach to apply for multiple, smaller-location packages rather than a single large multicounty submission. "We submitted again for project specific location. It got rejected again. So I thought that I got probably got an answer back from them today, that we needed to limit the number of locations," Speaker 1 said, explaining prior denials and the plan to reduce the number of project locations to four or five to meet funder preferences.
The county is also exploring technology to improve operational response. Speaker 1 said weather-monitoring units with cameras, air sensors and predictive data are available at about $3,000 per year per unit, and that the county has obtained a quote for a radio tower at Tunnel Road with equipment cost estimates ranging roughly from $28,000 to $48,000 (installation extra).
On intersections, staff recommended a roundabout for the Lena Road/City intersection after explaining constraints posed by nearby storage facilities, a solar parcel and wetlands. Staff proposed targeted safety fixes at 10–12 locations — signage, stop-line adjustments and chevrons — packaged as a single application if funding is secured.
Board members asked staff to inspect potential safety issues and report back; Speaker 1 agreed to investigate and provide a 30-day follow-up. Several agenda items were described as pending award or grant submission; the transcript records board assent on multiple items with "Aye" but does not supply a detailed roll-call tally in the meeting excerpt.
