Countdown Is On To County’s 2020 Road Paving Season

Paving for 2020 will begin soon, weather permitting.

County road and bridge foreman Scott Schmieder told the Ste. Genevieve County Commission last Thursday that prep work was about to begin on Magnolia Hollow Road, the first road to be paved this spring.

Schmieder said it should take one to two weeks to prepare the road for paving. It will get chip-and-seal paving. Presiding Commissioner Garry Nelson urged Schmieder to get on it as quickly as possible, due to its close proximity to the Mississippi River, which is expected to reach at least moderate flood stage this spring and summer.

“The river is coming up,” Nelson said. “It will block us from working on it.”

The road had been selected as the No. 1 priority because some state funding should be available, since it leads to Magnolia Hollow Conservation Area and a May 1 deadline would have to be met to qualify.

After it is paved, it was agreed that Schmieder’s crews need to catch up on patching jobs they didn’t get done in the fall before moving on to paving the next road.

Once attention returns to new paving projects, Gillespie and Saline Creek roads, both of which have undergone considerable preparation work, including bluff removal for Saline Creek Road, are expected to be next on the list.

Complete story in the March 11 edition of the Herald.