Jerome Township officials are planning to spend more than usual investing in road improvements this year.
During a recent Board of Trustees meeting, the board appropriated an additional $75,000 to the roads division.
“This is a very high year for us but if the work needs to be done, the money’s there to do it,” said Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell.
In total, township officials expect to spend $381,758 this year on road maintenance projects – up from the $310,158 initially budgeted.
The improvements will include several paving projects, along with chip seal, microseal and patching projects.
Roads Division Supervisor Breht Fillinger said the budget allows for 10 roads or areas to be improved, along with five days of the Union County Engineer’s Office patching potholes on all township roads.
The roads slated for projects include Frazier Drive, Sugar Mill Lane, Currier Road, Mitchell Dewitt Road, Warner Road, Hill Road, Katch Road, Woods of Labrador and Oak Ridge Lane. Arnold, an area between Crottinger Road and Railroad Street, will also be worked on.
Fillinger noted that Pagoda Way was originally included in the 2022 budget, but was nixed when the cost of other projects increased.
Quotes to repave Frazier Drive were nearly $28,000 over the amount originally budgeted. Still, Fillinger said it was necessary to move forward with the project as the road is “in dire need” of repairs.
Another paving project, Sugar Mill Lane, actually came in $7,000 under budget.
Paving Arnold will also cost about $3,000 less than township officials planned to spend.
The three repaving projects will cost $48,005, $57,737 and $52,956, respectively.
Fillinger said a portion of Currier Road will be paved by Chemcote for $10,215, while the rest will be chip sealed.
Although Mitchell Dewitt Road is a high priority area, Fillinger said major repairs will have to wait due to the financial burden they would incur.
The township solicited bids to pave the entire road, as part of a grant application process. Doing so would cost approximately $380,000, Fillinger said.
Jerome Township was not awarded the grant and cannot currently finance the entire project, he explained.
Despite this, he said a portion of the 2022 budget will still need to be used on lower level repairs to Mitchell Dewitt Road.
“It’s probably the poorest condition pavement that you have,” added Union County Roads Superintendent Justin Story.
Fillinger said the township will durapatch the road this year and will likely chip and seal more areas next summer.
Fixes to Mitchell Dewitt Road will cost $39,872 – “well over” the $17,800 the township budgeted, Fillinger said. Story said the majority of the increase is due to higher costs of asphalt.
The Union County Engineer’s Office will chip seal Warner Road, Hill Road and Katch Road for a total of $43,410.
Strawser will microseal Woods of Labrador for $62,674 and crack seal Oak Ridge Lane for $16,735.
Story said the county quoted approximately $116,000 for the total work that they would do in the township.
He said the estimate is slightly high because he is “hearing some numbers that are a little bit scary” for the cost of petroleum, which affects the cost of asphalt. Story said the buffer space should result in an accurate quote.
The projects will largely be completed by the Union County Engineer’s Office, though some were bid out to private companies including Strawser, Chemcote and Decker Construction.
Along with improvements focused on individual roads, officials budgeted for drag patching and durapatching throughout the township, as well as additional dollars for “miscellaneous repairs based on need.”