There's good news and bad news when it comes to Douglas County's plan for repairing its highways.
The good news is the county has made some headway in the first three years of the plan. The percentage of failed or failing roads is down by four percentage points -- cut nearly in half. The number of roads rated as new or nearly new jumped significantly -- about three times what the county had in 2004, before it launched its highway improvement plan.
The bad news is a growing proportion of the county's 337 miles of road is still deteriorating, and rising oil prices are making repairs more costly. Nearly 85 percent of county roads would need new asphalt, minimally, to solve the problems.
The price of asphalt was estimated at $61.74 per ton this week, compared with $16.50 per ton in 1999. The cost in 2004 was $24.65 per ton.
Fortunately, the bidding was completed in April, locking in the county's price for asphalt this year at $39.75 per ton, said Paul Halverson, Douglas County Highway Commissioner.
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Halverson said the county has gained some ground, but roads are deteriorating faster than they're being repaired.
Catching up is going to be more difficult with the rising prices of fuel and materials, he said. The county can complete about 8.5 miles a year based on its $2 million budget for road repairs. During the past three years, the county averaged more than 15 miles of road annually.
