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Esmeralda County seeks USDA grant and FHWA bids to fix Silver Peak Road drainage damage
Summary
County staff presented Shaw Engineering’s PAR for Silver Peak Road (damaged in Aug. 2023) and the board approved submitting a USDA Community Facilities Disaster Grant application for $898,970 (75% grant) with a roughly 25% county match, and authorized advertising FHWA-funded permanent repairs for bid.
Susan Dudley, a county staff member, told the Board of County Commissioners that the Silver Peak Road was damaged during Hurricane Hillary in August 2023 and that engineers prepared a Preliminary Architectural Feasibility Report (PAR) to package for federal funding.
Dudley said the county pursued a two-part funding approach: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would be asked to fund drainage mitigation, while the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) would reimburse the permanent repairs. She said Shaw Engineering completed the PAR at 30%, 60% and 100% and that Cody Black of Shaw was available by phone to answer technical questions.
The board voted unanimously to approve the PAR for submission to USDA and to authorize staff to file a USDA Community Facilities Disaster Grant application. The application amount discussed in the meeting was $898,970 (USDA portion, described in the PAR as 75% of the drainage-related costs) with a county match described in the packet as roughly $299,656.67 (25%), budgeted in the FY26 Road Capital Projects fund. Dudley also explained alternative line-item figures that appear in the PAR and backup materials: the PAR lists the permanent-repair total at $1,219,208.37 (funded 95% by FHWA at $1,158,247.95 and 5% county match of $60,960.42), while the drainage portion in the PAR is listed as $1,166,126.67 and the PAR preparation cost as $32,500 (for a combined total cited in the packet near $1,198,626.67).
Dudley described the USDA grant as a 75% grant / 25% match program and said the required newspaper notice had been published prior to the meeting. The board approved the USDA application by unanimous motion.
Separately the county approved advertising and soliciting bids for the FHWA-funded permanent repairs (Federal Project ER-0267-(342), NDOT Project No. 50707). Shaw Engineering will handle plan distribution and FHWA will review bids; staff said the low responsive bidder recommendation will go to FHWA and then back to the board for award. The board approved starting the bidding process and placing the advertisement of record in the county paper.
The next steps are submission of the PAR and USDA application, continued coordination with FHWA and NDOT, and a formal bid opening followed by FHWA and county review before contract award. No contract award was made at the meeting.
