As crews continue to repair roads damaged by the last few months of winter weather, Ottawa County road officials say they are “on par” with the seasonal budget.
The mild start to winter made up for the snow storms and extreme cold spells on the back end, said Alex Doty, communications administrator for the Ottawa County Road Commission.
“It kind of evened out,” Doty said. “Because we had that gradual ramp up, that kind of helped us out a little bit in terms of budget and being able to absorb some of that extra time and…all the hours we’ve spent to keep the roads clear this past winter.”
The county dedicated $1.4 million for primary road maintenance and $1.7 million for local road repair this winter. The Road Commission has spent 51.5 percent and 44.2 percent of the respective budgets.
Last year, Ottawa County spent a total of $3.3 million on winter road repair. Doty expects the numbers to be similar when the season ends.
“This is kind of on the high end of the spectrum as far as things go, but I wouldn’t call it out of the ordinary,” he said.
The winter repair is not expected to delay any spring construction projects in Ottawa County, including the long-winded reconstruction of Cottonwood Drive.
“Come mid-April, that’s when we’re going to start seeing some activity because that’s when the asphalt plants will be reopening, and we’ll be able to get started,” Doty said.
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