OMAHA (DTN) -- Jane Amundson walks a fine line. The Sharon, N.D., resident has to balance local commerce versus road maintenance in her role as a county commissioner for Steele County, a rural county of 2,000 people in the east-central part of her state.

 

Years of wet weather, increasing cost of road repairs and larger trucks and other farm equipment have combined to make rural counties' job of maintaining county roads extremely difficult.

Some counties in the Great Plains region have limited weights and reduced the speed limits to try to minimize road damage. Some counties have even taken the extreme step to revert previously paved roads back to gravel, which is less expensive to maintain.

"Needless to say, times are challenging for us," Amundson said.

WEATHER CONCERNS

Weather is among the biggest challenges that face rural counties as they attempt to preserve their roads. Amundson said the wet cycle the state has been in for years has been hard on the county's roads.

The county has incorporated measures to counterbalance the wet conditions such as putting weight limits on some county roads and reducing the speed limit on others, according to Amundson. However, these restrictions are not always met with favor from the county's farmers.

"We have several elevators in the county, in addition to the TransCanada pipeline and a wind farm in the southern part of the county," she said. "We really have to balance the commerce of the county with keeping our roads in decent shape. It is not an easy task."

Brad Thykeson farms with his two sons in Steele County near Portland, N.D. As a farmer, he knows firsthand about weather challenges: North Dakota has had wet weather ever since July 1993, he said.

The wet conditions have changed much about his business, from his agronomic practices to the crops he plants. It has also affected the roads he travels.

"The wet weather has made everything more difficult up here, whether it be a farmer trying to plant his crops or a county trying to keep roads in decent shape," Thykeson said. "It has been tough."

Leland Treichel, emergency manager for Edmunds County, S.D., said he believes Midwestern counties can overcome most obstacles when it comes to maintaining county roads, but extreme weather is not one of them.

After a rain around the beginning of July dumped 3 to 6 inches across the county, Treichel said there were 72 spots across the county where county roads were under water.

Treichel knew of at least one farmer who had a contract delivery date for corn that was hard to meet because of those flooded roads, he said. Treichel works closely with the county road supervisor and a staff of 15 road workers.

COST OF BUSINESS RISES

The other aspect that many rural counties struggle with is the rising cost of road construction projects. Amundson said the cost of maintaining roads has climbed dramatically in recent years.

One example she cited was a county road project in 1999 that cost $1.5 million. Recently, a very similar project was completed in another part of the county. This time, the cost of the project for the county was closer to $3 million, she said.

"Times are changing," Amundson said. "Twelve to 13 years ago, our county overlay was about $5,000 to $6,000 an mile. Today is probably closer to $12,000 to $13,000 a mile."

The same is true across the border in South Dakota.

Treichel said the state built a 13-mile highway project in Edmunds County in the 1970s for about $3 million. Recently, the state had to raise a highway in the county 7 feet in a half-mile stretch. The price tag? A cool $4.5 million.

Treichel also points out that it is not just the actual construction that has increased in price, but also the products the county uses to maintain the road.

"Asphalted or paved roads need to be seal-coated every once in a while, and the price of the seal product has risen dramatically in recent years, so that doesn't help," he said.

CHANGES IN RURAL AREAS AFFECT ROADS

Jeff Eslinger, communications manager for the North Dakota Association of Counties, told DTN that much has changed in rural areas since many of these roads where built stretching back to the 1930s.

Single-axle farm trucks have been replaced by heavier semitrailers which haul more livestock and more bushels of grain. These heavier weights damage county roads, especially as the winter thaw comes to the Great Plains.

North Dakota's rural roads in the western part of the state also face additional traffic as oil companies have increased the number of oil rigs in recent years. The economics of oil drilling and advancements in technology have led to increased drilling in the state's so-called "oil counties."

"The entire state only had 138 rigs in 2000, and by 2009 we now have 522 rigs producing oil," Eslinger said. "I am sure it is more than the 522 rigs today."

North Dakota had an increase in oil production in the past 10 years, while most areas in the U.S. saw a reduction in oil production. The state is in the top five oil-producing states.

To drill for oil, companies need trucks to haul in water for the drilling process and then trucks to haul away the oil once rigs are operational. This additional truck traffic is hard on a rural county's roads that weren't built for this much traffic.

Most oil companies help oil counties to maintain their roads because they use them so much. However, Eslinger said most of the state's rural roads are in better shape outside the oil counties.

GOING FORWARD

Despite a shrinking rural population, Eslinger believes that most rural counties can continue to provide good roads for their drivers. What is hampering the counties' efforts is the weather. Drier weather would help rural counties immensely, he said.

"While there are challenges, if we could return to a more "normal" weather pattern, I think most of our rural counties would be able to support their roads sufficiently," Eslinger said.

Treichel agreed, and said the Edmunds County roads department is "well-funded" and the county has been aggressive in maintaining its roads.

"I think the county is doing OK financially, which is good news for maintaining the roads," he said.

However, Admundson believes that the challenges will always be there for rural counties to maintain their roads.

Drier weather would certainly help rural counties, she said, but all their problems will not go away even if Mother Nature laid off the moisture.

While Steele County has not closed roads or reverted paved roads back to gravel because of a lack of money to fix or maintain its infrastructure, Admundson knows some other counties in the Great Plains that have had to go to these extreme measures to meet county budgets.

"I don't think we will ever be completely challenge-free when it comes to our roads," she said.

Russ Quinn can be reached at russ.quinn@telventdtn.com

(ES/AG/SK)

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