Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Roads Equipment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Secondary roads: commissioners weigh salvaged motor graders, asphalt millings and private driveway concerns
Summary
County roads staff reported potential savings on purchasing used motor graders from Duluth, discussed buying 2020 models if available, and fielded a complaint from a country club about rock and driveway approaches; staff suggested asphalt millings or packing shoulders to reduce rock tracked onto a bike route.
Worth County's secondary roads staff briefed the board on several operations items, including a potential opportunity to buy used all-wheel-drive motor graders the City of Duluth was selling and neighborhood concerns about rock and driveway approaches on a local bike route.
Staff said Duluth was trading 2020-model all-wheel-drive motor graders with 1,000 to 1,500 hours priced substantially below new machines; the county could consider acquiring one or more to rotate equipment and put higher-hour machines on less-critical routes. "They're running they're they're selling for around 287,000, which is substantially cheaper than a brand new" device, a staff member said.
The board also discussed a complaint from Northland Country Club that rock placed at a driveway approach was spreading onto a county road that has been designated as a bicycle route. Staff suggested sweeping and, for a longer-term fix, packing shoulders using asphalt millings or providing millings to the property owner for their driveway approach. "They might wanna consider asphalt millings in their driveway approach too if they can find some," a staff member said.
Separately, staff reported progress on purchasing pipe for several projects and noted the county can complete some box-culvert replacements more cheaply by using pipe and in-house crews, freeing TIF dollars for other uses.
Why it matters: Equipment acquisitions affect the county's maintenance capacity and capital budget; shoulder and driveway approaches on low-speed county roads can create safety hazards for bicyclists if loose rock is left on the traveled way.
What's next: Staff said they will explore availability of Duluth graders, monitor budget timing (potentially FY26 equipment budget), and follow up with the country club about sweeping or providing asphalt millings for the driveway approach.
