Commissioners approve road paint, glass-bead purchases; hear paving and bridge updates and solar road impacts

Dubois County commissioners on April 20 approved purchases for road paint and glass beads and heard detailed updates on paving and bridge work across the county, while pressing county engineers about road impacts from a nearby solar project.

County Highway Engineer Eli Leffert told the board the low bid for annual asphalt paint markings was from Enes Flint for $32,527 and the low bid for glass beads was from Potter Industries for $4,640. "I would recommend approval of both of those quotes," Leffert said. Commissioner discussion produced a motion to approve the purchases, which carried after the board voted "aye."

Leffert also summarized the 2026 in-house paving packages: six bid packages covering 12 roads and roughly 10.13 miles of paving were advertised April 16; work is scheduled to begin no earlier than June 1 and must be finished by Sept. 30. Bids will be opened and read aloud at the board’s May 4 meeting.

On bridges, Leffert said work on Bridge 78 (County Road 600 West over the Potowa River) began April 9; contractor Blankenberger Brothers Inc. is performing a rigid-deck overlay and the closure is expected to last "up to 60 days," he said, though crews are trying to reduce the duration. He reported bundled bridge projects (Bridges 107 and 240) were awarded to C & R Construction and that Bridge 119 is ahead of schedule after in-house beam and deck work.

Commissioners also pressed staff about local road conditions related to the Crossline Solar project. Leffert said Crossline’s contractor applied calcium chloride at no cost to the county to stabilize a gravel section of County Road 800 South and reduce dust. Several commissioners said constituents had sent videos that appeared to show spraying beyond the traveled lane and asked whether vegetation could be harmed. Leffert said it could have been water or calcium chloride and that, if calcium chloride is used, it "should be sprayed just within the limits of the road."

Leffert warned that road damage is likely while large equipment moves in and out of project sites and reiterated that road‑use agreements require restoration to "existing condition or better" at project completion.

The board also heard that the county submitted a federal bridge-safety project and expects nearly $3.8 million to cover engineering, inspection and construction; that project requires entering a consultant contract by Aug. 1 to retain the funding.

The board did not set new conditions for the solar project at this meeting but said it expects company representatives to appear at a future session to answer public safety and nuisance concerns.