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Woodbury County engineer warns aging roads and bridges will require continued grant pursuit
Summary
County engineer Laura Sears told residents in Anthem the county manages about 1,300 miles of roads and 300 bridges, described recent costly projects and urged using state and federal grants to avoid shifting large costs to local taxpayers.
Laura Sears, Woodbury County engineer, told residents at an outreach meeting in Anthem that the county maintains roughly 1,300 miles of roadway and about 300 bridges and must rely on state, federal and grant funding to keep the system safe and serviceable. "We have a lot in Lisbon. Our system is quite big here and we've had 1,300 miles of roadway, 300 bridges," Sears said.
The engineer outlined recent and planned work, including a multi-million-dollar Farm-to-Market rebuild of D-38 and a seven-mile concrete overlay project she described as more durable but more expensive. Sears said some projects can be advanced only with outside funding: two large bridges the county applied for could cost roughly $1.8 million each, with the federal program potentially covering about 80% of the work.
Sears also described routine equipment and maintenance needs: motor graders should be replaced on roughly a 10-year cycle, grader purchases and new gravel-hauling trailers are part of a multi-year plan, and the county has spent several million dollars over recent years on a gravel-road improvement program. She said the scale and cost of bridges and major pavement work make grant-seeking essential.
Residents pressed Sears about material choices, asking why neighboring counties sometimes use different rock types; she and other county staff explained procurement costs, hauling distances and the limits of local supply. Sears encouraged residents to identify failed sections of road so staff can prioritize work.
The county will continue grant applications and match planning for federal bridge funds and other programs; residents were urged to report specific problem locations to their district foreman so the engineering office can target limited resources.
The county engineer said detailed project maps and funding status will be discussed at future meetings and are available on the county website or by contacting the secondary-roads office.
