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County staff outline repairs for Elevator Road (Route 1071); stabilizer use paused
Summary
County staff reported crews regrading and recrowning Elevator Road (Route 1071) and said a soil stabilizer (PermaZyme) likely cannot be used because local materials lack the required clay/fines; crews will place crushed material and use water for dust control, with longer-term treatments deferred pending suitable material or budget approval.
County staff told the Roosevelt County meeting on Oct. 14 that crews have been regrading and narrowing the shoulders of Elevator Road — identified in the record as Route 1071 between U.S. 2 and Highway 25 — to restore a proper crown and prepare the surface for new crushed material.
Speaker 3, who spoke throughout the road update and is identified only by speaker number in the record, described the work: “They went out with a blade, the dozer and the scraper, and they took the shoulders off … to 30 foot width of that road, pulled in, putting a new crown back on it.” He said crews plan to place better crushed rock and use production water to control dust in the short term.
Technical questions about a commercial stabilizer were raised during the exchange. Speaker 4 said the product discussed in the meeting, PermaZyme, “is similar to man chloride” and “helps bind this material together,” but added the treatment “needs about 30% fines or 30% clay of your material for that to work.” According to the meeting record, county testing and SIB analysis of nearby gravel and city stockpile material showed insufficient fines, so staff concluded the stabilizer could not be used on that stretch of road without importing different base material.
Speaker 3 said the county will "regroup" to find a site or project where the stored stabilizer can be used effectively rather than wasting the product, and referenced a follow-up review by Derek (an internal staff member referenced in the record) about budget and allowability. The record indicates the county paused use of the chloride-like product pending that review.
A member of the public (Speaker 5) confirmed the stretch being discussed as the Elevator Route by Columbia Elevator. No schedule for final surfacing was set in the provided record; Speaker 3 said crews hope to re-evaluate the crown in spring and then consider longer-lasting surface options once appropriate materials or funding are identified.
The discussion also noted the road had become distorted under heavy traffic and that local travelers welcomed visible maintenance work. The meeting record does not show a formal vote or budget appropriation specifically authorizing purchase of imported material or the stabilizer for Route 1071.
