Spring Road Projects are Complete: Two-Mile Bridge in Construction Stage

BY MELANIE BUCK –

Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison has announced the 2016 Spring Road Project is now complete. Several roads received extensive work during the project including Polk Roads 70, 41, 45, 46, 703, and 170.

Work was performed on the first 3.6 miles of Polk Road 70 in the Posey Hollow area. The section had an existing hard surface, however 450 tons of asphalt was used to “level” ruts and imperfections in the surface and then a seal of asphalt emulsion and crushed chip aggregate was applied over the entire 3.6 miles. Prior to the surface work, some large culverts were replaced and some “soft” spots were excavated and repaired. A reimbursement grant was previously acquired from the USFS in the amount of $150,000 to apply to this road.

On Polk Roads 41, 45, 46, and 703, all located between Highway 8 West and Highway 375 West, totaled 4.1 miles of projects. “These roads had existing hard surfaces in very poor condition,” said Ellison. The hard surface was removed, sections were elevated, new drainage pipes, structures and ditches were constructed, new road base was applied and compacted, oil primer was applied, and a double application of asphalt emulsion and aggregate finished these roads.

Polk Road 170 in New Potter at Gann Cemetery was in good condition with the exception of the weathered and cracking surface. A single layer of asphalt emulsion with aggregate was applied over this .4 of a mile road to mitigate water from penetrating the surface.

All work done to these roads, prior to hard surfacing, was performed by the Polk County Road Department. The final hard surface portion was handled through private contract. Salt Creek Paving, of Benton, Arkansas, was awarded the contract in the amount of $464,633.31. Ellison said that the United States Forestry Service will be invoiced for $150,000 to go toward the project.

“We are very proud to announce the completion of this project. These were some   extremely difficult roads to rebuild because of storm water flow patterns. This was a worthy project that fits exactly with our 10-year plan that focuses on the long-term health of our road and bridge system. I encourage our citizens to travel these roads and to see for themselves, the professional work that is being accomplished,” Ellison said.

He added that the 2016 Summer State Aid project is already underway and the Polk Road 37 bridge is also nearing completion. The Two Mile Creek Bridge located on Polk County Road 37, near Hatfield was damaged on January 8th, by a local timber contractor who attempted to cross the bridge with a skidder that was too tall for the structure. The top of the skidder snagged the top of the bridge, causing the collapse and destruction of the century old bridge. “The contractor cooperated fully and responsibly and maintained adequate insurance to cover the damage,” said Judge Ellison. The settlement payment was for $215,000, from AIG to Polk County. Ellison hopes to have the bridge open sometime in August 2016.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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