(photo: Kendell Kubasch / KRWC Radio)
After a lengthy summer of construction, traffic is flowing smoothly between Howard Lake and Winsted on Wright County Road 6 and McLeod County Road 1.
The re-construction of the roadway was recently completed just in time for the Labor Day weekend, and the start of a new school year.
McLeod County Highway Engineer Andrew Engel gives a brief history of its portion of the roadway…
“County Road 1 from Lester Prairie to Winsted was originally Trunk Highway 261. Back in the late ’90s, early 2000s, MnDOT re-constructed that road and gave it back to the county through the turnback process. The county has maintained that road since then, and hadn’t really done any major pavement rehab to it, so we took a look at that road which is one of the major corridors in the county, so we decided to go forward with a major re-hab of doing a 6-inch overlay on it.”
Engel say McLeod County decided to use concrete on the project, but acknowledges that decision has a higher initial price tag…
“We look at it on a life-cycle cost basis. Typically a concrete pavement has a higher up-front cost, but there are less maintenance tasks involved with its life-cycle. So, bituminous you’re looking at paving it, then doing multiple seal-coats and multiple overlays over its life, where concrete you’re looking at paving it originally, and then maybe one re-hab project over its life.”
He says while much of the roadway is a straight, north-south segment, the re-construction through the City of Winsted presented some challenges…
“…Winsted was a real big challenge for us with all the business and industry on County Road 1. It took a lot of work from my staff along with the contractor and their staff to make sure that everyone could get where they needed to be.”
The re-construction of McLeod County Road 1 carried a price tag of some 5.6 million dollars, and is expected to have a 40 to 50 year lifespan.
*Audio in this story courtesy Kendall Kubasch / KRWC Radio
