LEGISLATURE STUFF - Smoothing Season

By Michael Ryan

CATSKILL - The paving season has not yet started for the Greene County highway department but when it does, they won’t be messing around.

Roads chief Scott Templeton had his smoothing schedule approved by county lawmakers, during their regular monthly meeting in June.

Overall, attention will be given to roughly 30 miles of roadway including blacktopping, moto-paving, micro-paving and chip sealing.

Contractors are expected to get rolling in mid-July with Templeton, in his report to the legislature, breaking down the overlay plans as follows:

—Town of Ashland, County Route 19 from Steinmetz Road to County Route 10 (1.21 miles).

—Town of Hunter, County Route 23C from State Route 23A to Cranberry Drive (0.86 miles).

—Town of Jewett, County Route 23C from County Route 78 to County Route 40 (3 miles).

—Town of Jewett, County Route 23C from Natty Bumpus Road to State Route 296 (0.61 miles).

—Town of Durham, County Route 20B from County Route 20 to State Route 145 (0.98 miles).

—Town of Durham, County Route 27 from State Route 81 to State Route 145 (0.86 miles).

—Town of Cairo, County Route 31 from County Route 20 to State Route 145 (1.66 miles).

—Town of Coxsackie, County Route 45 from Halstead Drive to the Schoharie Turnpike (1.19 miles).

—Town of Catskill, County Route 47 from County Route 23B to the NY State Thruway Bridge (1.81 miles).

—Town of New Baltimore, County Route 54 from Highmount Road to County Route 51 (1.44 miles).

—Town of Greenville, County Route 67 from County Route 41 to the Schoharie Turnpike (1.49 miles).

—Town of Durham, County Route 67 from Box 5088 to County Route 67A (1.51 miles).

—Town of Durham, County Route 67A from State Route 145 to County Route 67 (0.46 miles).

Templeton, in his report, noted the cost for these sections (16.88 miles/89,115 feet) would be $1,971,989, using 210,663 yards of material, amounting to 22,306 U.S. tons.

In another matter related to the highway department, lawmakers approved the awarding of a bid for repairing the Falke Road Bridge spanning the Little West Kill in the town of Lexington.

“There is major scour at the location,” Templeton said in a followup phone interview, emphasizing, “It is a yellow flag, not a red flag situation,” involving undermining of bridge abutments.

Four Requests for Proposal were received, awarding the job to Evergreen Mountain Contracting, based in West Kill, submitting the low offer of $74,880, according to the legislative resolution.

The range of estimates was stark, starting with the Evergreen Mountain Contracting proposal, climbing to $99,955 and then leaping to $204,600 and $233,000, according to the legislative resolution.

“They were certainly diverse but that’s the way it’s going these days,” Templeton said, noting the job is slated to wrap up this season.

And in another highway agency matter, lawmakers authorized the purchase and installation of a flatbed and lift gate within the Sign Department.

The parts, obtained for $16,599 from T&T Sales in Latham, are for the department’s new Ford F-450 XLT, the resolution states.