The Morgan County Highway Department is hoping to take on a large share of work this summer to roads in the area.
The Morgan County Commissioners approved a pair of engineering agreements with Hutchinson Engineering in Jacksonville this morning.
County Engineer Matt Coultas says the two resurfacing projects are being funded through the Rebuild Illinois program. He says the funds will be used to resurface Concord-Arenzville Road from Concord north to the Morgan County line just south of Arenzville.
He says the plans are to match up with the overlay done to the southern portion of the road a number of years ago. Coultas says more than just repaving is included in the project.
“It’s anticipated to do an 18-inch shoulder widening as well as profiling with milling depending on how the existing road profile meets the current standards. We will be doing some investigations through the curvatures, some of the S curves there around the school. We will do the pavement striping and I’m also anticipating putting in some rumble strips along the side of the road for run off the road type incident assistance. Maybe some rumble strips down the centerline through the curves as well.”
The second engineering agreement calls for a mill and overlay project through the center of Woodson on County Highway 1, or what would be considered Main Street in Woodson.
The road would be resurfaced with an asphalt overlay from Route 267 to the three-way stop next to the railroad tracks. As well as reestablishing crosswalks and road markings with Thermoplastic pavement marking.
Coultas says the Thermoplastic can last anywhere from 6 to 10 years depending on how it wears over time. He says it generally lasts much longer than the standard marking paint the department usually uses.
Coultas says he would like to see both of these projects completed this summer. However, he says both the costs for the projects and when the Rebuild Illinois funds are available will determine just when they can be undertaken.