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Highway department reports progress on runaround road, paving and chip sealing; $40,000 check noted
Summary
County highway staff reported progress on a runaround road tied to mining operations, paving of Old 50 and Edwardsport Road, ongoing tiling and chip sealing, and said they received a $40,000 payment related to work.
Daviess County’s highway department briefed commissioners on multiple operations, including a temporary runaround road created to support an aggregate operation, ongoing paving, and tiling and chip-sealing work.
Chris, a highway department employee, told commissioners the contractor is working roughly one shift rather than two and that some material is being brought from a mine in Illinois because of plant logistics; he said roughly 25% of material is coming from local sources and 75% from the Illinois mine. He said the runaround road’s base is in place and is designed for temporary use at lower speeds (about 30 miles per hour), not to carry highway speeds. He identified landowners (the Wagglers) from whom easements were obtained to route the runaround road around the pit.
The department reported that Old 50 west of the Washington corporation limits has been paved and striped up to the railroad tracks; the county plans to chip-seal the stretch from the tracks to the dead end later this year to reduce incidents where drivers mistakenly continue onto the old alignment. Edwardsport Road (from the Walton Sports Complex north to Highway 358) is in its final paving stages, with two more days of mainline paving reported and additional work on approaches and striping to follow.
The highway department also said it expects to complete the 2024 CCMG (Community Crossings Matching Grant) project in October and that a new CCMG call for projects should be issued thereafter. Staff reported current tiling operations will continue for the rest of the month and that about 90% of last year’s tiled roads are now being chip-sealed; roughly 10% of those roads remain unpursued because some property owners declined right-of-way partnerships needed for hard surfacing.
Commissioners asked to be notified if staff schedules a site drive-through; one commissioner offered to join a ride-along when DNR staff were not present. The department also acknowledged receiving a $40,000 check related to its work; staff noted the check had a misspelling of the recipient’s name when opened.
