By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — Darke County Engineer Jim Surber will review the bids for road resurfacing and centerline and edgeline striping before giving his recommendation for this summer’s roadwork. Darke County Commissioners Marshall Combs and Larry Holmes accepted the bids for review by the engineer. Commissioner Matt Aultman was absent.

Prior to hearing the bids, Walls Brothers Asphalt presented Surber with an award for asphalt paving. Michael Bocanegra, of Walls Brothers Asphalt, read the quality award plaque that stated the project was the highest quality in asphalt, as exhibited by superior workmanship and riding quality. The award was given for the Greenville-Nashville Road paving project. The award was won by Walls Brothers Asphalt and Darke County Engineer Jim Surber. Bocanegra said as soon as they completed the project, they knew that project would be put up for an award. Surber responded, “Outstanding, but you guys were the ones that did the job.”

The county accepted the resurfacing bid for both county and township roads. However, the county will only accept the bid for the county roads. It will be up to each township to accept the bids.

The county is planning on resurfacing over 25 miles on six different county roads. The projects range in size from 1.72 miles to 5.76 miles. Surber estimated that it would take 20,922 gallons of liquid asphaltic tack coat, 24,022 tons of asphalt and 5,236 tons of aggregate. He estimated the total for the county roads would be $2,732,567.45. Walls Brothers Asphalt was the only bidder, and their bid came in at $2,707,687.

The county roads expected to have resurfacing done in 2024 are Gordon Landis, Willowdell, Hillgrove Ft. Recovery on two sections, Arcanum Bears Mill Road, Preble County-Butler Township Road, and Hillgrove Southern.

Walls Brothers also presented a bid for the township roads. According to Surber, the bid would encompass resurfacing on 11 different township roads in nine townships. There will be a total of 11.988 miles resurfaced and two roads will be widened. The total cost to resurface the township roads is $1,315,378. The cost to widen two roads is $172,200.

Two companies submitted bids to apply the centerline and edgelines. Surber included 195.87 miles of centerline and no-passing zones with an estimated 3,440 gallons of yellow paint and 27,500 pounds of reflective beads. He also included the application of 82.26 lane-miles of white edgeline, requiring an estimated 1,645 gallons of white paint and 13,160 pounds of reflective beads. Oglesby Construction, of Norwalk, submitted a bid of $178,752.44. Aero-Mark Co., of Streetsboro, submitted a bid of $145,078.74. Surber will look at the bids before making his recommendation.

The townships will get the same cost for centerline and edgeline applications as the county gets. The county will bill the townships, but the townships will pay the winning bidder directly.

The Darke County Commissioners meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 p.m., Darke County Administration Building, 502 S. Broadway, Greenville.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].