GRAMS program on hold until 622 miles of Level A roads are resurfaced

Jasper County is going to use more than $2.8 million worth of rock to resurface every Level A granular road in springtime of this year, but in the process the county engineer says the recently integrated Granular Roads Assessment and Maintenance Strategy (GRAMS) will be on pause this year.

County Engineer Michael Frietsch said in a Jan. 29 letter to supervisors that he will also pause the reclamation cycle and instead focus on roads damaged by past road and bridge construction projects. As part of these efforts, additional rock will be allocated to roads impacted by upcoming bridge and road projects.

“We’re going to focus on those roads that have been damaged over the past three years or so by either the state or our own county road and bridge projects,” he said. “If we get to the stabilization, we get to the stabilization. If we don’t, we don’t. Figure stabilization is going to be the last thing we’re going to worry about.”

With this approach in mind, Frietsch said the resurfacing program will provide 150 tons per mile to each gravel road classified as Level A; 600 tons per mile to Level A roads that may be impacted by current year road and bridge projects; and 600 tons per mile to roads reconstructed last year.

The county will also contract haul rock to 14 townships and in-house haul to the remaining six townships, including Palo Alto, Buena Vista, Richland, Lynn Grove, Elk Creek and Fairview East. In total, 98,233 tons of loadstone was requested for contract rock hauling, and it will be placed on about 622 miles of Level A roads.

“We’re just going to go through and we’re going to dress up every single road,” Frietsch said to county supervisors during their Feb. 4 meeting. “We’re not going to consider traffic count to a degree. We’re just going to try to get everything back to a similar condition again.”

Two bidders responded to the county’s requisition: Martin Marietta and Peterson Contractors, Inc. The former provided the low bid of $2,155,300.55 and the latter provided the bid of $2,497,552.50. The county engineer estimated the bids to come in slightly higher at $2,187,715.95.

“It turned out better than I expected,” Frietsch said. “I think we got a discount on the actual material, and I think having a little competition probably helped.”

The board of supervisors would go on to approve the bid from Martin Marietta.

Compared to the spring 2024 contract rock bids, the county is paying about the same for about 4,000 tons less. Which shows the price of rock has increased; a 5.1 percent increase, to be exact. Last year, the county received 102,975 tons of loadstone for $2,150,029.30, which was spread across 14 townships.

Frietsch said when accounting for the entirety of the resurfacing program this coming spring, he anticipates the total costs of the contract rock hauling and in-house rock hauling to be more than $2.8 million. He expects secondary roads will likely spend $1 million-$1.5 million out of its carry over balance or reserves.

“Pretty much whenever we’re ready to go, (Martin Marietta) is ready to go,” Frietsch said. “That’s kind of where we’re at right now. I’ve got no concerns about our current budget situation. Our reserves is healthy. Everything I’m seeing is consistent with what I was expecting.”

The GRAMS program was introduced by Frietsch in 2023. It was created as a long-term approach to gravel road maintenance around the county. The plan splits maintenance and rock allocation into four main categories: stabilization, reclamation, resurfacing and minimal maintenance.

Each decision the secondary roads department makes when it comes to road maintenance is based upon the Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), percentage of trucks using the road and past rock consumption data. The four maintenance categories are largely dependent on these figures.

Here are how the categories are determined, how many miles of roads they cover and the life expectancy of some of the maintenance:

• Stabilization routes have an AADT greater than or equal to 100 or between 50 and 100 with truck use greater than 10 percent. About 90 miles of routes have been identified. The county has planned five to six miles of stabilization in the first year of the program. Stabilized routes have a 10-year life expectancy.

• Reclamation routes have an AADT between 50 and 100 with truck use equal to or below 10 percent. About 288 miles of routes have been identified. The county has planned 25 miles of reclamation in the first year of the program. Reclaimed routed have an eight-year life expectancy.

• Resurfacing candidates have an AADT between 30 and 50. About 316 miles of routes have been identified. The county has planned to complete 170 miles in the first year of the program. Crews will alternate between the north and south half of the county. Resurfaced candidates include previous year’s reclamation routes.

• Minimal maintenance candidates have an AADT of less than 30. About 220 miles of routes have been identified by the engineer’s office. Maintenance will be addressed on an as needed basis through the country’s spot rock program, which affects all 914 miles of gravel roads in Jasper County.

The spot rock program applies to every Level A granular road and involves contract hauling rock to strategic stockpile locations all across the county.