Dunn County officials are hoping to increase the number of county highway miles that are repaired by about a third in 2025 to bring down the average age of all county roads.
“Historically, we have done approximately 10 miles of roadways each year,” said Dustin Binder, county Highway Commissioner. “We want to increase that to 18 miles in 2025.”
The reason for proposing the increase, Binder said, is “we want to try to get all roads within the projected lifespan of a road,” which is 20 to 25 years.
Currently, the average age of a county highway is 34.6 years. If the County Board of Supervisors approves Binder’s budget request for 2025, the average age would be reduced to just under 23 years.
The county worked on 8.18 miles in 2021; 10.68 miles in 2022; 13.49 miles in 2023; and 12.28 miles in 2024. The budget proposes 18.48 miles of road work in 2025.
“Our road conditions are quite behind and need improvements,” Binder said of the need to expand the miles of road projects, adding that the county has about 425 miles of roads.
The 2025 Highway Department budget calls for spending nearly $9 million on county highways, with $6.6 million coming from the county and the rest from the state Department of Transportation.
Binder and other county officials are trying to educate taxpayers about the costs involved in county road and bridge construction. According to a recent presentation Binder gave to the County Board, it costs approximately $150,000 to resurface a mile of roadway, while pavement replacement costs $250,000-$300,000 a mile. Reconditioning costs $400,000 to $500,000 a mile, and total reconstruction costs $1 million or more a mile.
The lifespan for resurfaced road is eight to 10 years; pavement replacing, 20 years; reconditioning, 20 to 25 years; and reconstruction, 20 to 25 years.
“We are trying to get more information out to the public about what we do and how much it costs,” Binder said. “We need the public to understand where their tax dollars go for highway projects.”
The highest profile projects planned for 2025 are a reconstruction project on Highway D from 420th St. to Highway K in Irvington, and a reconstruction project on Highway D from Highway 25 to 816th Avenue in Tainter.
The projects include making safety improvements, storm sewer, and adding curb and gutter. The total cost of both projects is about $4.2 million, with the county paying $1.8 million.
Other projects being planned include Highway G from BB to D; Highway J from the Menomonie city limits to 410th Avenue; Highway C from Z to D; Highway S from N to Highway 170; Highway BB from Highway 25 to 12; and Highway G from D to 25. Three bridge projects also are planned.
Concerning 2024 projects, Binder said work on the major Highway B project overall has gone well, is nearing total completion and is anticipated to come in under budget. The Highway B project was two separate projects: from state Highway 12/29 to I-94 and from I-94 to Packer Drive. The estimated cost of the combined project was more than $10 million, with state and federal funds picking up the bulk of the expenses.
“The overall project costs were less than what we anticipated, which is good news for budgetary purposes,” Binder said.
The County Board will vote on the 2025 county budget, including the Highway Department, Nov. 12.
