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Pipestone County awards multiple highway contracts totaling about $2.72 million; CSAH 25 vote splits amid business concerns
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Summary
The Pipestone County Board approved three major highway contracts — a box culvert, an Osborne Township bridge and the CSAH 25 regrade and pave — and approved related engineering services and software purchases; the CSAH 25 vote was 3–2 after local business owners raised bypass concerns.
The Pipestone County Board of Commissioners on March 24 approved awards for three major highway projects and several related engineering expenditures, including a contentious vote on a regrade-and-pave contract for County State-Aid Highway (CSAH) 25.
Engineer Bergman presented the bids and departmental reviews. The board awarded the 2026 Box Culvert Project (SAP-059-599-141, -144, -152) to A&C Excavating for $585,367.20 after county attorney and highway department review. The Osborne Township Bridge project (SAP 059-599-154) was awarded to M&K Bridge Construction for $839,486.45. Both awards were approved unanimously.
The board also approved the CSAH 25 regrade and pave contract (SAP 059-625-002) to R&G Construction for $1,295,796.58. During public comment, three local residents and business owners — Mylan Ray, Chris Ray and Bridget Longstreet — warned the project could create a bypass of the City of Pipestone for travelers on Highways 23 and 75 and negatively affect their businesses. The motion to approve the low bid passed 3–2, with Chairman Luke Johnson, Commissioner Doug Nagel and Commissioner Dallas Roskamp voting yes and Commissioners Dan Wildermuth and Chris Hollingsworth voting no.
Board members also authorized related professional services and equipment: Braun Intertec will perform falling weight deflectometer testing on 25.5 miles of roadway at an estimated cost of $10,164, and the board approved renewal of two Civil 3D seats and one AutoCAD LT seat from DLT Solutions for $6,159.02 to support engineering design work. The board approved a mutual-aid agreement with Nobles County for highway accounting assistance and directed Chairman Luke Johnson and Engineer Bergman to sign the agreement.
The awards follow standard county procurement and review procedures; county staff confirmed legal and departmental checks were completed for each contract. The county did not announce a construction schedule in the record of the meeting.
Next steps: contractors will proceed under their awarded contracts after standard preconstruction steps; the board did not record any conflicting timelines at the meeting.