Sarpy County approves demonstration seal-coat on Cary Road to reduce dust

The Sarpy County Board of Commissioners on June 3 approved a demonstration seal-coating project for Cary Road intended to reduce dust and improve surface traction for residents.

County Deputy Administrator Scott Bovic told commissioners the board received a single bid from Midwest Coatings Company Inc. for $541,810.79. “As we met with the neighbors last fall ... the residents at the time asked for some immediate relief, some improvements to safety because of dust,” Bovic said. The board voted 5-0 to award the contract.

The project is part of the county’s Northwest Sarpy Road network work and is intended as a short-term measure before more extensive reconstruction, Bovic said. Zach from the county engineer’s office described the treatment as “a bituminous, more of an asphalt mixture, kind of a slurry that’ll get mixed in with the aggregate. So it’ll still ride like a gravel road, but it’ll be black and keep the dust down.” He told the board the approach is a proof of concept: the county has used it on one prior local project and has seen similar treatments used in parts of Iowa, with an expected life span of roughly four to seven years.

Commissioners and staff discussed tradeoffs. Commissioner Kelly said the treatment could be finished quickly and would avoid prolonged closures that residents feared during full reconstruction. Commissioners also noted grading will be required before the treatment in sections of the road and that some paving contractors declined to bid because they would need to subcontract grading work.

Bovic said the county engineer’s office estimated the project would take about 17 working days once the contractor mobilizes and that the engineer’s preliminary official estimate had been $480,000; the actual bid came in higher at about $542,000. Commissioners approved the award after a motion by Commissioner Warren and a second by Commissioner Mixon.

The county described the expected additional benefits briefly as reduced dust, improved traction and drainage control in hilly sections, and the possibility that the treated surface could serve as a stabilized base if a future asphalt overlay is installed. Zach told the board the current plan remains to regrade the entire road in a few years, at which point the seal coat would be removed as part of full reconstruction.

The contract award does not change the county’s longer-term plan to perform a full road regrade; commissioners said the demonstration treatment is intended to provide faster, short-term relief for residents.