Cass County public‑works staff told the commission Jan. 7 that the county will receive $10.1 million from a state bridge funding pool to cover construction costs for the County Road 31 bridge replacement and that favorable bids allowed the county to proceed with major paving and overlay projects.

Public‑works presenter (identified in the record as Kyle/Litchi) said bids for the Buffalo project came in at $7.2 million — above the county’s $7.0 million budget but well under the engineer’s estimate of about $8.26 million. The presenter described drainage and elevation complexities in the town site and said the low bid was from Border States Paving. "We were a little uneasy about knowing that we only had 7,000,000 in the budget for this project. However, bids came in favorable and our low bid was at 7,200,000," the presenter said.

The presenter also outlined the county’s five‑year plan and related funding assumptions, including projected highway distribution funds and grant applications. He said Cass County applied for bridge and road pots and that three bridge submissions made the semifinal list; the County Road 31 bridge award totals about $11.7 million in the county's submitted bridge package and the state awarded $10.1 million toward that project. "We got, like, 30% of the state funding for that," the presenter said, describing the award as a major achievement for the county's bridge program.

Commissioner Breitling noted the road‑advisory committee had unanimously recommended adoption of the five‑year plan. Commissioners moved, seconded and adopted the five‑year roads and bridges plan by roll-call vote. The commission also approved contracting with Border States Paving for the Buffalo paving project. Staff said the awards and plan allow the county to target overlays, shared‑use paths and structure repairs over the coming years while preserving other grant funds for future projects.

The county did not read full contract amounts or financing breakdowns into the record beyond the bid and application totals presented; staff will provide procurement and grant documentation per standard procedures.