Companies installing two of the area’s solar projects will repair roads in the northwestern part of the county later this year.
While Union County and Acciona Energía already had a road-use maintenance agreement (RUMA) done ahead of construction, the energy company said it would also cover additional work not originally listed in the agreement.
Engineer Jeff Stauch told the county commissioners last week that Acciona, which is looking to build a 325-megawatt solar project in Washington and York townships, would repair miles of roadway used during the construction of the project, as outlined in the RUMA.
“The company’s agreed to cover some additional costs above and beyond the RUMA for York Township,” Stauch said. “It’s all roadwork stuff but the estimates were two and half years ago and the scope of what York asked to be done is a little higher than what was written in the RUMA and Acciona’s O.K. with that.”
He said it would be about $75,000 worth of work between four roads.
The company will be paying for a portion of the paving on Treaty-Line Road, the engineer said, which will be done later this year. Those bids are due to come in early next month, he added.
“They paid for Wellwood Road widening and paving on a previous contract,” Stauch said. “And will be covering the chip seal cost, and some patching, on Phelps Road and Flickinger Road.”
He said his office would likely do the work and then just bill the company after the fact.
The Cadence Solar project on the other hand, which will run through York, Liberty and Taylor townships, is on the opposite end of the process, Stauch said. That project is set to start very soon.
There are also four roads associated with that project that will be covered as part of that RUMA. Those roads include Lunda and Yearsley roads and portions of Patrick-Brush Run Road and Davis Road. All but Patrick-Brush will actually be done prior to the start of construction, rather than after completion.
“The rest of them will be widened and paved prior to them starting the work,” Stauch said. “Not sure the edges will hold up and, in a couple of cases, the roads are too narrow to be able to accept safe construction traffic, so it worked out this way.”
He said the work will cross nearly 20 miles of roadway.
The project is set to install panels on land running from Peoria north to York Center.