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Council weighs paving gravel roads; costs and chloride impacts raised
Summary
Staff presented traffic counts and an $80/sq yd cost estimate to pave gravel roads; council members raised agricultural and runoff concerns tied to magnesium chloride dust suppression and urged careful prioritization.
City staff told the committee they measured traffic on gravel streets to inform possible paving priorities. They said many places consider paving when average daily traffic reaches roughly 200'450 vehicles, and staff used an $80 per square yard cost estimate for a crush'grade followed by two asphalt lifts (no curb/gutter/sidewalk).
A council member expressed concern about dust suppression chemicals: "...the mechanism chloride definitely has a negative impact on their, agricultural" operations, another member said, urging staff to consider alternatives and staff training. Leo cautioned that paving can increase drainage and runoff, which could worsen stormwater impacts in agricultural areas and thus must be weighed against maintenance and safety benefits.
Staff said the city previously used CMAQ (congestion mitigation and air quality) funds to pave some roads when Fremont County was in a nonattainment designation, but subsequent air'quality improvements removed that eligibility and narrowed grant options. The committee asked staff to develop prioritization criteria that balance traffic volumes, agricultural impacts, drainage consequences and funding availability before proposing any conversions of gravel streets to paved sections.
Council asked that resident input be part of any future steps and noted that some gravel streets on the edge of the city have low traffic and residents prefer them to remain gravel.
