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Daviess County highway staff outline multi-stage road plan, safety sign changes and worker gear request
Summary
County highway staff reported progress on road surfacing projects, bridge work and investments, and the board approved a floating holiday for highway workers. Staff also proposed changing school-zone signage, adjusting speed and stop controls, and asked the county to consider providing high-visibility rain gear to employees.
Daviess County highway staff on Monday told the Board of Commissioners they are moving forward on a multi-step plan to convert gravel roads with fabric and rock, chip-and-seal surfaced sections and perform paving overlays later this year, while also raising equipment and safety issues for county crews.
Chris, a highway department representative, said the department’s short-term goal is to “get at least 15 mile under fabric and rock that we can chip and seal this year,” and reported about 6.5 miles have been completed so far. He said tiling work is planned to start toward the end of July, chip-and-seal work in August, and paving overlays beginning in September.
The highway representative also reported the bridge project is still on schedule but has faced weather-related delays. “They’re wanting to pour the deck Wednesday if the weather cooperates,” he said, noting one approach slab tested at 500 PSI must reach 550 PSI before it can be released to traffic.
On worker compensation and time-off, the board approved a motion to provide a floating day for highway workers after the July 4 holiday when that holiday falls on a Friday. Commissioners voted 2-0 to adopt the department’s past practice that allows affected employees a floating day off.
Safety and traffic changes were discussed in detail. Staff said they will replace pale-yellow school-zone signs with the newer fluorescent yellow state standard before school starts and recommended lowering the posted speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph through Ragglesville because of school locations and curves. Chris also recommended changing the stop-control pattern at Old Highway 50 and 900 East so the lower-volume movement would be controlled, saying current traffic counts show roughly 600 vehicles per day on Old Highway 50 and about 72 on 900 East.
Chris raised a separate operational request about protective clothing for crews: the county currently does not issue high-visibility rain gear, and he asked commissioners to consider a policy or procurement plan so employees have appropriate safety jackets for storms and roadside work. “We don’t really have any rain gear provide our guys,” he said. The chair indicated staff would look into vendors and possible programs.
The highway update included a brief finance note: staff said the county holds several certificates of deposit and other investments and that those accounts have earned money that could be available for project costs. Chris described roughly $2,000,000 invested with $500,000 withdrawn for current needs and said CDs have earned about $200,000 to date.
The board did not take separate votes on the road project schedule, bridge testing or sign changes; those remain staff actions and recommendations for implementation. Commissioners asked staff to continue reporting timing and cost details as work progresses.
