DC Hwy. Committee approves $1.36 million bid for Hwy. B paving project
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — The Dunn County Highway Committee has accepted a bid from Monarch Paving of $1.36 million to pave 3.3 miles of county Highway B north of the Exit 45.
The bid includes 4.5 inches of asphalt in two lifts, said Dustin Binder, Dunn County highway commissioner, at a meeting of the highway committee on July 12.
In response to a request for bids, Dunn County received only the one proposal from Monarch Paving, he said, noting that the estimated cost for the project is $1.8 million.
Dunn County will do the trucking and will haul material on and off site, Binder said.
The cost of the project is within budget, and Dunn County will receive $450,000 in reimbursement from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, he said.
The $1.3 million does not include the shoulders, and Dunn County will complete the shouldering, Binder said.
Contracting with Monarch Paving will be the best approach, considering the volume of work ahead of the Dunn County Highway Department in the next few months, which includes paving projects on county Highways E, Q and W as well as some town roads, he said.
“I want to put out the best product for this road with the sheer volume of traffic on the road,” Binder said, adding “this will be the best approach for longevity.”
Dunn County highway employees could do the work, but this is the best approach, he said.
Gary Bjork, county board supervisor from Colfax and a member of the highway committee, asked why Binder believes having Monarch do the work is a better approach than Dunn County doing the work.
Dunn County does not have a transfer machine that blends the pavement more uniformly, and Dunn County’s rolling technique might not be quite up to date, Binder said.
With a transfer machine, the paver never stops, and “you do not want the paver to stop,” he said.
When the paver stops to be loaded with asphalt, “you feel every bump in the road where the paver stopped,” he explained.
Bjork asked Binder if he had ever considered buying a transfer machine for Dunn County.
“I do not even want to know the cost,” Binder said.
St. Croix County is looking at purchasing one, and if St. Croix County purchases one, Dunn County could possibly rent it from St. Croix County, he said.
“They are very, very expensive,” Binder said.
The Highway B project will have a heavier oil in the mix, and “the numbers are good numbers in today’s world,” he said.
One member of the highway committee asked if it would be possible for Dunn County to share the cost with St. Croix County for a transfer machine.
The counties are starting to share more equipment and rent equipment from each other. Purchasing equipment together gets much more complicated, Binder said.
Bjork noted that “it makes no sense” to have a high-priced piece of equipment in storage for 11 months of the year.
Binder agreed and pointed out that by renting equipment, the county also would not have any maintenance costs.
The Dunn County Highway Committee unanimously approved accepting the bid from Monarch Paving for paving 3.3 miles of county Highway B.
