Dropping bridge and out of Road Closed signs commission issues
Dropping bridge and out of Road Closed signs commission issues
By RICHELLE PRESSER
There was a lot of activity going on at the June Sheridan County Commission meeting for a rainy kind of day, and with the rain continuing to fall. Roads and ditches and everything, everywhere in the county, showing signs of being at or exceeding its capacity, Sheridan County Commissioners were left with the task of finding solutions.
Herbert Bargmann from Wold Engineering out of Bismarck, along with Ralph Volson of RV Enterprises, out of Balfour, ND, were at the commission meeting to discuss elevation discrepancies in an unorganized road district in New Germantown township with the commissioners.
Both Erdmann and Ehrman disagreed with the elevations previously shot, as did Volson, causing Bargmann to line up another meeting with his surveyor to take another look at the road. All present considered the idea that ditch depth may have been part of the reason for the calculating problems, which also impacted FEMA funding. That meeting was set for the next morning, on site, to reshoot the elevation.
With reported rainfall totals reported at 7”-9,” roads in every direction in the county are saturated, with the count lost somewhere in the 100’s impacted, according to Ehrman. Adding to the frustration of rainfall excess are muskrats. Muskrats “are terrible everywhere,” stated Erdmann.
Alvin Gross, county road foreman, reported that at least 11 section roads had been closed, with even more roads flagged. Some of the roads, stated Gross, look as though they will never be open again. He stated that he lost count of how many had been flagged due to the high number. “The roads are soft everywhere”, he indicated. The repairs and rising water levels are a big issue. “We’re out of ‘Road Closed’ signs”, reported Gross.
Another issue Gross brought to the commissioners attention was regarding a road/bridge issue north of McClusky, which he determined was a “Bureau issue”. According to Gross, it appeared that the bridge is “dropping”. He stated that he had contacted the Bureau to ensure they have been made aware of the situation and flagged the area as a precaution.
