The Bartholomew County commissioners have chosen contractors for new asphalt overlay on 8.21 miles of streets in rural residential neighborhoods.
Milestone Contractors, L.P. was awarded contracts for the following six subdivisions that make up the second and final phase of the county’s 2021 overlay project.
The Orchard — $44,765
Pleasant View & Talberton — $117,049
Colony Parke — $139,281
Hillview Estates — $49,258
South Hill Farms — $53,128
Bethel Village — $155,841
The total amount of these combined contracts with Milestone Contractors will be $559,322.
Meanwhile, the commissioners agreed to pay Dave O’Mara Contractor, Inc. of North Vernon $144,783 to provide Jewell Village residents with a new blacktop, while All Star Paving, Inc. of Seymour will receive $30,946.41 to repave streets in the Moss Farms subdivision.
Since the county has the $735,052 of its own road funds in hand to pay for Phase Two, it was originally hoped that these subdivisions would see the improved streets before the end of the year.
But earlier this summer, Milestone’s vice-president and area manager Corey Baugh said demand for services has heated up among large corporate clients this summer, while all contractors are facing a shortage of skilled labor.
As a result, county highway engineer Danny Hollander says he’s not optimistic that the streets in all eight neighborhoods will be upgraded before the end of the year.
“They just started working on the first phase,” said Hollander, referring to the 30 repaving projects that encompass 22.16 miles of county roads. Half of the $1.73 million cost for Phase One project are being paid through the Community Crossings matching grant program, administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation.
In the past, contractors are often willing to bid lower on government contracts than what they charge private clients. In exchange, the contractor is not forced to adhere to a specific start time or work schedule.
While it’s not known when the overlay program will be completed, Hollander said the annual chip-and-seal program will finish up this week.
Roughly three times less expensive than laying down a new blacktop, chip-and-seal treatments repair cracks for at least five years, county highway superintendent Dwight Smith said earlier this year. In addition, he said chip and seal helps prevent potholes from developing during freeze and thaw periods.
Nevertheless, the commissioners have received complaints for chip and seal.
In the past, complaints have included loose gravel cracking windshields, clogs in drainage ditches caused by the mixture, and blotches of the gravel and asphalt sticking to the body of vehicles. There’s also growing concern that chip-and-seal roads are dangerous for bicyclists and motorcycles.
“I don’t like chip-and-seal any more than anyone else, but it extends the life of the road and saves the taxpayer money in the long term,” commissioner Tony London said.
