Emmons County confirms road superintendent as full-time amid discussions on culverts, gravel tracking and dust control

Emmons County commissioners confirmed Russ Lawler as a full-time road department employee and heard a detailed operations update that covered tractor installation, gravel hauling, culvert failures and options for dust control.

Lawler told the board crews were hauling gravel out of a pit in the county’s southeast and that work on a new tractor/computer was finishing the same day. He said drivers are filling load sheets and the department is tracking every load with spreadsheets created by staff so the county can reconcile stockpile surveys and production records.

Lawler and commissioners reported several culverts had undermined during the heavy spring rains; in several cases the road shoulders appeared intact but the road center had begun to collapse. Lawler described field observations that culverts can develop internal holes, splices can separate, or fill materials can wash away — creating voids beneath the roadway. Commissioners asked Lawler to flag culverts that appear compromised and to report on whether the pipes show holes or rust when removed.

A major portion of the discussion focused on repeated public requests about dust control on county roads. Lawler reviewed options used in other counties — magnesium chloride and other stabilizers — and estimated a first-order cost: one common treatment covering roughly a mile could be in the range of $5,500 to $10,000 depending on materials, application method and extra gravel or compaction needed. Commissioners and members of the public discussed cost-sharing models; Lawler and staff recommended piloting treatment on a few short stretches (two or three sites) and exploring private commercial applicators versus retrofitting county equipment. Several commissioners suggested asking residents to cost-share if the treatment is limited to short frontage segments.

The board unanimously approved the motion to accept Lawler as a full-time road employee after commissioners noted the heavy workload following the spring rains and thanked staff for weekend and holiday work to open roads. Commissioners directed Lawler to continue compiling load sheets for gravel inventory reconciliation, to research vendors who apply dust control (including postcard/testimonies from other counties), and to prepare an initial cost estimate for a pilot program.

Several commissioners also discussed maintenance techniques — crown and windrow management — and said some roads may require selective crown adjustments and ditch mowing to resolve recurring drainage and mud issues rather than a single cure-all product. Lawler said any such structural corrections take time and multiple moisture cycles to settle. The board asked staff to return with specific pilot locations, cost estimates and proposed cost-share terms.