NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – During the Lincoln County Commissioners meeting on April 5, the Lincoln County Highway Superintendent presented the 2021 asphalt overlay project. This time around, only one company submitted a bid.
“I would hate to have to rebid this project,” said Highway Superintendent Carla O’Dell. “I think it is important that we do all 17 miles of the Prairie Trace because it is so long.”
The company, Paulson Incorporated, plans to begin the asphalt project on Aug. 16 and finish around Sept. 30. Paulson Incorporated proposed the cost of the project to be a little over $2.2 million which is more than the county’s budget.
“We don’t know what is happening with oil prices and our asphalt is oil-based,” said O’Dell. “If we take some miles off and try to rebid it, who knows what the price could come in because oil prices are increasing almost weekly.”
The Highway Superintendent is considering not updating equipment in next year’s term to allocate money to other projects such as deteriorating roads. The next budget review is July 1.
“I think the other option would have been to cut something else whether it had been equipment and move that money into the overlay,” said O’Dell.
The Lincoln County Commissioners motioned to accept the bid from the Paulson Incorporated.
