Valley County approves $30,000 pavement analysis to target repairs on West Roseberry and West Mountain roads

Valley County commissioners on April 7 authorized a professional services agreement with Shannon Wilson to analyze pavement and subbase conditions on sections of West Roseberry and West Mountain, a step county staff said is needed to prioritize repairs and refine cost estimates.

County staff said the work will use ground-penetrating radar and other analysis to identify failures in the subbase and pavement fractures, and to recommend targeted treatments for different sections. "You're gonna look at it so you could see the subbase," a staff member explained, adding the analysis will show "if there's any failure to the subbase" and whether paved areas have fractures.

The agreement was described as a short-term analysis to inform budgeting and programming. County staff said, weather permitting, the consultant could be in the field in late April or early May and that final recommendations and cost estimates would follow several weeks after fieldwork. Commissioners approved the contract with authority "up to $30,000." The motion carried by voice vote.

Commissioners used the discussion to press for a larger preventive maintenance program. A commissioner said the county needs to "get back to a preventative maintenance program," warning that failing to protect new pavement within the first two years can cause it to lose a large portion of its structural strength. Staff said they will bring funding priorities back to the board after the analysis is complete.

The pavement analysis item was discussed alongside broader funding questions. One commissioner said the state legislature had recently provided new funding and suggested the commissioners schedule a work session to discuss long-term funding strategies for county roads.

The agreement funds only the condition analysis; any follow-on construction or repairs would require separate budget decisions and approvals.