An emergency meeting was held by the Cherry County commissioners on August 22 to discuss the condition of county roads damaged by high water conditions.
A first action taken to allow accepting road work proposals without going through a bidding process was unanimously passed by the three commissioners.
Next was a discussion of problem areas and potential sources of funds. The budget for road work is currently depleted county wide.
Information considered included a preliminary list compiled by county staff indicating more than 120 locations where roads had been damaged by the storm. An estimated cost of repair was indicated at more than $1.2 million.
Starting the discussion was Gary Weaver of Emergency Management explaining the outcome of a survey with staff from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. During August 12-16 there were 1600 miles driven to determine particular details of work necessities that may be eligible for federal assistance. Locales were evaluated, distances measured and problems identified. Pictures were also taken.
Results of the FEMA review are expected to be available to county officials very soon for their review.
During this time, Lloyd Smith, roads supervisor checked places with staff from the Nebraska Department of Transportation and others to evaluate other places which might be eligible for federal aid. Examples mentioned were near Valentine NWR, south of Wood Lake and in the Goose Creek country.
Federal aid is provided on a cost-share of 80-20 with the 20 percent the amount the county would have to fund.
The extent of road places with problems has continually changed following the “bomb cyclone” storm in March. Locales were fixes had been made deteriorated again following extensive rains in the southern part of the county in late July. New problems also became evident.
Information considered included a preliminary list compiled by county staff initially indicated 124 locations where roads had been damaged storm events. An approximate cost of repair was about $1.2 million.
The county has 1,405 miles of roads, according to NDOT information.
A majority of these roads have been affected by water conditions, officials said.
Roads within the county are classified three ways by county officials: 1) arterials and secondary 2 and 3 (including minimum maintenance) for all others. Roadways and locales where access is basically not available will receive priority, according to the commissioners.
An initial list of 14 especially notable locales has been reduced to seven road closure locations in mid-August. Numerous other roads may be passable to a lesser extent but will require additional work to allow semi-truck traffic.
A discussion was then held to determine which problem sites need particular, basically immediate attention, and where private contractors may be hired to facilitate completion of the repairs needed.
An initial list of 14 especially notable locales has been reduced to seven road closure locations in mid-August. Numerous other roads may be passable to a lesser extent but will require additional work to allow semi-truck traffic.
In eastern Cherry county some of the priority locales include West Wood Lake road and Plum Creek Road.
Repair of the Kennedy Road west of the refuge was nearing completion by a private contractor during mid-August. Final work would include mulching and seeding where dirt work occurred along the road shoulder. The approximate cost of repair was indicated to be $225,000 on the road problem list.
Work to address conditions through west Dry Valley has progressed well and was indicated to be nearly complete.
A priority locale is along the North Whitman road within the immediate vicinity of the Henderson Road intersection and a mile to the west.
The Survey Valley Road continues to have its surface rocked so it can be traversed.
Two other problematic places include the North Ashby Road from Alkali Lake north for five miles. The biggest apparent problem is deep holes that inhibit transit. One rancher said that if these holes were filled that would be very helpful to improve travel possibilities.
Access is constricted along the Carver Road east of the Huffman Ranch, it was explained at the meeting. There is apparently no large truck access. Cleaning of ditches and culverts were mentioned as options to improve conditions.
West of the Fawn Lake Ranch headquarters was said to also be very problematic. There are ranches in this area where there is no public road access. Discussion ensued that conveyed the possible need to change the alignment of a portion of the roadway.
At Steverson Lake WMA the rise of water has constricted the width of the road. There are also concerns that the current conditions might undermine the remaining right-of-way and create a danger. Perhaps the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission could assist in addressing the situation, one commissioner said.
With the extent of work needed more than one contractor may be required, according to commissioner comments. It is also possible that temporary workers might be hired to help complete tasks in a quicker manner.
Currently, there is no amount available to indicate the extent of costs to restore county roads to a condition prior to the bomb cyclone and subsequent rainfall events. The commissioners agreed that repairs would not be completed before the end of 2019.
There were ten county residents present at the public meeting. Their opportunity to comment was restricted, based upon an edict statement by a commissioner.
Ranch women and men are increasingly concerned about the condition of essential travel routes. Reasons indicated include the essential requirement to transport livestock on large semis, hay and seasonal feed may need to be trucked in, difficulty for students to get to school, access for emergency services and not having mail delivery.
There are problems of land access to even drill a well, a local business man explained during an ancillary phone conversation.
In some situations, where feasible, temporary trails through the upland hills are being used to bypass problematic spots, with some residents needing to drive across the hills just to get anywhere. Also, some ranchers are required to drive many miles around to reach another portion of their ranch. Some ranchers have used short-distance cattle drives across neighboring land to move stock to alternate pasture or to a spot suitable for their shipment.
State Highways
In other roads matter, NDOT staff indicated on the 22nd that the depth of water – about 20 inches - along Highway 97 continues to be problematic. Since the problem area is within a closed basin, it is hoped that natural processes will occur and result in a reduction of water depth. This major highway continues to be closed as it has been for months.
Water over Highway 83 at Toms Lake on the Valentine NWR continues. Vehicle travel is limited to one direction at a time as controlled by traffic lights.
