Dubois County approves $511,743 paving grant contract, awards truck purchases and bridge-inspection contract

The Dubois County Commissioners on March 3 approved a slate of highway contracts and vehicle purchases intended to advance county paving and infrastructure inspections.

Highway Engineer Brent Wendholt presented an INDOT Community Crossings Matching Grant (CCMG) contract for project 2024-02 totaling $511,743.14, which represents 75% of the paving amount; the board approved the contract and authorized Wendholt to sign via DocuSign. Wendholt also presented bids to replace Trucks #212 and #213; Mechanic Foreman Max Hopf recommended accepting the low bid from Sternberg International for $181,701.10, and the board approved that recommendation. For Truck #108, Hopf recommended the low Sternberg Chrysler RAM 5500 bid of $53,788.00; that purchase was approved as well.

The commissioners voted to accept the lowest bids on accessory items for upfitting dump trucks and related equipment. Bids for dump beds, snowplows and accessories were received from vendors including IMPCO and Meyer Truck Equipment; Hopf noted the county saves roughly $32,000 per single-axle dump truck by performing upfits in-house, which he said has saved the county about $116,000 this year.

Wendholt also presented a three-year Small Structure Inspection contract with Butler Fairman & Seufert, Inc. for $199,976.00 to inspect approximately 320 culverts and structures with spans between 6 and 20 feet. The contract phases work by geography: Phase 1 (northern third) in 2025 for $75,852.00, Phase 2 (middle third) in 2026 for $60,888.00 and Phase 3 (southern third) in 2027 for $63,236.00. The board approved the inspection contract by motion.

All motions related to these highway items were carried unanimously.