County engineers warn Conconully Dam repairs could require heavy hauling and strain local roads

County engineer Josh Thompson briefed the board on Nov. 5 about dam‑safety work at Conconully Dam and the expected transportation impacts on county roads. State officials told county staff the project may move as many as tens of thousands of cubic yards of sand and gravel and significant quantities of cement and grout for deep stabilization work.

Thompson warned the board that heavy hauling commonly causes rutting, alligator cracking and localized pavement failure if not managed, and that chip sealing alone will not correct some types of structural damage. He recommended the county require pre‑leveling and other corrective work before chip sealing and said the county will track road condition with its regular road‑rating program to document any degradation attributable to haul traffic.

Commissioners and staff discussed specifying haul routes to keep truck traffic off residential‑scale roads and using the county's biannual road ratings as baseline documentation. Staff said they would request that project contractors use designated routes and would require pre‑leveling or reconstruction where roads degrade beyond normal wear.

Thompson said project schedules likely begin in several years, with design work and procurement now under way, and that the county would work with the project sponsor to include road‑repair obligations in project specifications.