During a regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) unanimously approved a contract with Dustrol Inc. for a road resurfacing project.
According to the meeting’s agenda, the contract amount “shall not exceed $811,830.92.”
The agenda also notes that the contract is for hot mill-in-place services on six different county roads, totaling 122,492 square yards of roadway. The roads that will receive this treatment include: Meadows Drive, North Pagosa Boulevard, Saturn Drive, Lake Forest Circle, Pinon Causeway and Vista Boulevard.
Road and Bridge Manager Eric McRae explained earlier that day during a work session that the work will cover approximately 9 miles of roadway, explaining that the “second half” of Lake Forest Circle, from the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District building to the connection at North Pagosa Boulevard would be treated. He also noted that about 1.5 miles of North Pagosa Boulevard that was “skipped” last year will also be treated.
McRae added that Pinon Causeway is a “least priority,” but it will help meet the 8-mile minimum required by the contractor.
“It’s in need, so we’re gonna get that on the list, as well,” he said.
He also noted that a mile of Vista Boulevard will be treated with the hot mill-in-place service, contributing to a separate road resurfacing project scheduled for Vista Boulevard.
McRae mentioned the county worked with Dustrol last year to have the same services performed and was pleased with the results.
“It definitely helps us keep within our budget and still produce some new surfaces,” he said.
After the roads are treated with the hot mill-in-place service, they will be resurfaced with a chip seal overlay afterward with a different contractor, McRae explained.
McRae also mentioned that “patching” will need to be done on some stretches of roadway “to prepare for hot mill in place.”
Commissioner Warren Brown mentioned he’d heard concerns from residents about trees in the area being damaged due to the hot mill-in-place service, asking if the contractor has any plans to mitigate that and noting there were concerns from residents about wildlife being harmed as well.
McRae explained that mitigation steps such as tree trimming will be performed this year, noting some trees were damaged due to the heat produced by the equipment needed to perform the hot mill-in-place treatment.
“Luckily we didn’t lose any trees,” he said, adding that some large ponderosas on North Pagosa Boulevard were damaged, but not killed.
He mentioned that crews also have water tanks and fire suppression equipment on hand while performing the work, adding that crews are “blasting quite a bit of propane heat on the road to heat up that surface to remix the asphalt.”
During the meeting, Commissioner Veronica Medina noted that the amount for the contract was included in the county’s 2025 budget.
According to the contract, all work should be completed by Aug. 20.
clayton@pagosasun.com
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