Friday, March 29, 2024

County faces multi-million-dollar road repair cost

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Coryell County faces a multi-million-dollar cost for road repair, and delaying work will only escalate those costs in the future.

That was the message presented to the Coryell County Commissioners Court during a special meeting on Feb. 24 by Shannon Farrell, a consultant with Natural Resources Solutions.

Farrell focused on needed road repairs, including roads considered to be at or near failure, and prospective conditions to the future.

"We used data to see what the road failure rates were in each precinct, and to determine what roads are in good shape," she said. "Looking at the average annual repair rate, about 16 miles of roads are being repaired in-house (using county manpower and equipment) each year. Eleven miles of road per year are entering a failed state or near-failed state."

Doing the work using county resources costs an average of $100,000 per mile, while hiring an outside contractor to do the work approaches a cost of $400,000 per mile, Farrell noted. However, the lack of resources to do all of the work needed makes hiring a contractor to help with roadwork a less expensive proposition in the long run, she noted.

Based on the schedule needed to complete all the roadwork, Farrell noted at the current rate it would take until 2069 based on current road failure rates, and that an increase in road failure rates "could push that out to 2075.

If action is taken beginning this year to make road improvements, including using contractors to help, Farrell said the cost of the repairs would be $90.8 million. If action is delayed until 2028, the cost will rise to more than $110.7 million.

"The cost of waiting five years is a significant increase," she said.

"About 222 miles of road are in need of repair for 2023-2024. The cost to do the work in house would be about $1.4 million, and the outsource rate would be $5.7 million."

Continuing to address the road needs at a slower rate, the county would "break even" on needed road repairs around 2070, Farrell said.

"You can save money in the long run by outsourcing and getting things done more quickly," she said. "The most important factor in reducing the cost for the county is time — getting repairs made sooner rather than later."

County Judge Roger Miller said the backlog of needed road repairs is something that has developed over a long period of time.

"We didn't get that way overnight," Miller said.

"It's pretty depressing," said County Commissioner Scott Weddle.

Steve Manning, president of NRS, said the outlook isn't entirely bad.

"It's not all doom and gloom," Manning said. "We are presenting ways for the road and bridge department to be able to get things done. The time component in particular really hit me. I've lived here all my life and didn't realize the situation. Time is not our friend.

"Over the last four or five years the road and bridge department has stabilized that so you're no longer trending down."

A major federal infrastructure bill means that billions are available nationwide for road and other infrastructure building and repairs.

"These grant opportunities are popping up, so you need to determine if you get grants where to allot the funds to get the biggest bang for your buck and the best return for your money."

Justin Latham, director of the county road and bridge department, said a primary goal is "transitioning from a construction department to a maintenance department" and repairing roads, rather than having to build them.