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Road director outlines storm response, mutual aid and a study weighing calcium chloride as a dust palliative
Summary
Road Department director Dave Prunty reviewed December operations and a major windstorm response that required coordination with Flathead Electric and DNRC/Forest Service crews; he also presented a technical memorandum recommending testing calcium chloride as a cheaper, single-application alternative to magnesium chloride for dust control.
Dave Prunty, director of the Road and Bridge Department, briefed commissioners on December operations and a significant windstorm that affected Flathead County.
Prunty described rapid response work to clear trees and restore access after the storm and praised mutual-aid assistance from DNRC and Forest Service hotshot crews. He said coordination with Flathead Electric over downed power lines posed a challenge because crews needed timely information on whether lines were live before road crews could safely operate. "Every power line is treated as live until we are told by Flathead Electric that it is not live," Prunty said, and he recommended improved real-time information sharing between the utility and the county emergency operations center.
Prunty also provided an update on a bridge strike investigation: Liberty Mutual (contractor insurance) has hired DJ&A engineers to inspect girders, and staff expect on-site inspection to occur the week of Jan. 12; further repair direction will depend on engineering recommendations and insurance decisions.
On dust control, Prunty summarized a Robert Pesch and Associates technical memorandum evaluating calcium chloride as an alternative to the county's long-used magnesium chloride. He said calcium chloride may require a single application (0.35 gallons per square yard) compared with two mag-chloride applications (0.25 gallons per square yard twice) and could be less expensive in some circumstances. Prunty noted mixed corrosion literature and recommended allowing contractors to bid either material so the county could compare costs and field performance.
Prunty said last year's dust-control program cost exceeded $1 million, with roughly half reimbursed by cost-sharing arrangements; he asked the board to let staff proceed with bidding both options.
What happens next: staff will include both calcium and magnesium chloride options in bidding documents and follow up on bridge-inspection scheduling and utility coordination for future emergency operations.
