Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Highway commissioner credits causeway rebuild for flood resilience, reports large material‑cost pressures and brine savings
Summary
Marquette County’s highway commissioner said a causeway project raised the road to the 500‑year flood elevation and won awards; the department also reported material‑cost pressure but said brine use cut salt needs by 2,600 tons, saving roughly $288,000.
Brian Tripatski, Marquette County highway commissioner, reviewed 2025 construction and maintenance work and outlined 2026 priorities. He said 2025 county and municipal projects totaled about $2 million and DOT‑funded maintenance was about $2.2 million; a large salt‑shed project on I‑39 cost about $800,000.
Tripatski described the county causeway project — the work the board recognized earlier — as having increased the road elevation from below the 100‑year flood stage to approximately the 500‑year flood stage, with a deepest‑point grade increase of about 4½ feet. "We were able to increase the elevation of the causeway from below the 100‑year flood stage to at the 500‑year flood stage," he said, and noted use of lightweight fill to avoid added stress to the subgrade.
He said adopting brine in winter operations reduced salt usage by about 2,600 tons, a reduction that equates to roughly $288,000 in lower material costs. Tripatski also reported a departmental net over‑recovery pending audit of about $2.4 million, with some reimbursements shifting to 2026 and a reduced levy draw compared with prior years.
Looking ahead, he previewed 2026 projects including a cold‑plane recycling project on County P and an 80/20 state/county pavement replacement on County E near Westfield. He cautioned that global oil prices and material availability continue to be primary challenges for road construction costs and scheduling.
