When Florence Township trustees met on June 3, they discussed which roads would receive immediate work this summer.
Work on several roads should begin in the next few weeks. Township Clerk Garry Oberlin said County Road 4 between County Roads F and H will be rebuilt using an emulsion/stone material purchased from M & M Asphalt, a company currently seeing to repairs on State Route 20 between State Routes 15 and 49.
To reshape County Road 4, workers will grind and reapply the emulsion/stone material, creating a layering process that will restructure the road back to township standards, Oberlin said.
[emember_protected custom_msg=”Full content protected for online subscribers. Purchase a one week subscription from the top menu bar for just $1.99 to read all online content (full access). Longer subscription plans are also available. Subscriptions cover our costs to attend local events; bringing forth Hometown News Coverage to our communities.”]
“Work will begin once we coordinate with the work being done on State Route 20,” Oberlin said. “To minimize our costs on hauling, we want to get the material from them when it’s ready, and have it brought to our roads for application.”
County Road K, which was rebuilt last year, will receive a chip and seal treatment from between County Road 1 and State Route 49.
“We are doing a two mile stretch of County Road K,” Oberlin said. “The rebuild was successful and now it’s time to do the chip and seal work.
“The finished product should last for a number of years,” he added.
Total cost of the project is estimated at $50,000. Oberlin said the chip and seal work is half the cost of blacktop.
The chip and seal process is a pavement surface treatment that combines one or more layers of asphalt with one or more layers of fine aggregate, typically limestone.
“A budget as small as ours cannot absorb the cost of doing blacktop on roads,” Oberlin said. The chip and seal treatment doesn’t last as long as asphalt, but for the amount of traffic we receive, it works out.”
Truck traffic, diverted from the construction area of State Route 20 has caused some headaches for the township. On May 31, a semi ran into a ditch at the corner of County Road 6.75 near State Route 107.
Oberlin said the truck was gone when crews came out to access the damage.
“The trucks that come out here can tear up the roads since they weigh so much, compared to regular vehicle traffic,” he said. “All we can do is make the repairs when things happen.”
Trustees announced the Florence Township Fire Department has ordered new boots with orders coming in a few at a time. The boots are estimated around $2,000.
Florence Township will meet again at 6 p.m. June 17 at the township hall located at 211 South Michigan Street.
[/emember_protected]