Sullivan County public works reports paving, embankment and bridge work; two NRBC resolutions on agenda

Sullivan County Public Works staff reported a string of road and bridge projects in progress and asked the county to adopt two resolutions required by the Northern Border Regional Commission (NRBC) for a funded bridge project.

The county’s public works staff summarized work that remains for this construction season — paving on County Roads 84 and 85, guide-rail installation on several routes, and several embankment stabilizations — and described two NRBC-related resolutions tied to a glue-laminated bridge planned for Pflugertown. "We're getting a lot more hoops than we would do with, say, New York State DOT," a public works staff member said of the NRBC process. He told the panel the NRBC grant amounts to about $600,000 and that the resolutions are administrative: one moves budget lines between tasks inside the contract and the other confirms the county's commitment to maintain the structure for a defined period.

Why this matters: the work affects travel on multiple county roads and the timing of winter preparations, and the NRBC conditions alter how the county must document and commit to long-term maintenance for a funded bridge.

Most immediate items: staff said paving and chip-seal programs are wrapping up and that striping for chip-sealed roads has been completed a second time this year. The department said County Road 32 and County Road 15 (Old Liberty Road) were recently completed or patched; staff noted County Road 15 contains a failing water line that has repeatedly required excavation and repairs, and the town of Liberty has cited funding constraints when asked about replacing that line. The department reported contractor work on guide rails on County Routes 172, 166A, 104, 103, 107 and 19, totaling roughly 18,000 feet at an estimated cost of about $1.5 million.

Staff outlined several embankment sites the county is monitoring or repairing, including County Roads 121 (outside Hortonville), 72 (near the Ferndale Transfer Station), 153, 114 and 115. Public works said major embankment repair typically begins at roughly a million dollars; where possible the county is doing smaller, temporary stabilization projects in-house.

On culverts and bridges, staff said designs are underway for several replacements or repairs, including a large culvert on County Road 85 in Liberty, a scour repair on County Road 22 in Tusten and beam work for Benton Hollow Road bridge deferred to next year. The Pflugertown bridge replacement is installed and finishing work — final grading, paving and railing — was reported as underway.

On the NRBC resolutions, staff said the commission has asked for added documentation and a 20-year maintenance commitment even though the bridge was designed for a 50-year-plus life and already appears on the county's bridge inventory. "They want you to own it. Well, we don't own the bridge. We have maintenance responsibilities over the bridge," staff said. He described the resolutions as bookkeeping and commitment language required by NRBC rather than new county obligations.

What remains unresolved: staff said the state Office of General Services (OGS) contract process is late for winter salt pricing; the department has submitted projected tonnages but had not yet received the per-ton price under the OGS contract. Staff also flagged that some in-county water-line replacements (Liberty) remain contingent on town funding.

Ending: Commissioners asked staff to add plain-language road names and town locations to future resolutions and highway agenda items so towns can easily see which projects affect them. Staff agreed to include the "also known as" names in future agenda materials.