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This map shows road and bridge projects Pipestone County plans to take on this year. The blue dots represent bridge and culvert re- placements, the black lines represent overlays, and the green line represents a gravel and tiling project planned on County State Aid Highway 17. Source: Pipestone County
The most common concern brought up by those who attended the Pipestone County Highway Department’s annual road and bridge hearing on March 5 was a desire for dust control, specifically on County State Aid Highway (CSAH) 17 south of state Highway 30.
Pipestone County Highway Engineer Nick Bergman brought up the road first while giving an overview of projects planned for this year. He said the county was planning to add up to eight inches of gravel and install tile under the center of the road starting at Hwy. 30 and going 5.8 miles south toward Edgerton. Bergman said he’d heard some concerns about the road being narrowed due to the additional gravel and that there had been some requests to pave the road over the years.
Some questioned whether the tile was needed or would be helpful. Others suggested that adding gravel would be sufficient because the road has no crown now, and that only the northern most mile might benefit from a center line tile. Some suggested the funds would be better spent on more dust control due to truck traffic in the area and expressed concerns about visibility and potential accidents.
“Somebody’s going to get killed out there,” said Don Talsma. “We’re not exaggerating.”
Bergman said calcium chloride, which is used for dust control, probably doesn’t work as well in dry conditions like those experienced the last couple years. He estimated that the cost to pave the 5.8-mile section of CSAH 17 would be around $2 million to $3 million and that said it would likely be financially feasible with state and local funds. He said it would be beneficial to crown the road this year to prepare it for future paving.
“We’d still have to add a little bit more, I would imagine, before we paved it,” Bergman said. “If you see the gravel project now, don’t think that we can just throw pavement on top of that.”
Other projects planned for this year include seal coating of 18 miles of road including County Road 9 from Trosky to Edgerton, Co. Rd. 16 from Hatfield south to Co. Rd. 9, and Co. Rd. 15 from Cazenovia six miles north; overlays on portions of CSAHs 2, 11, 12, 16, 18, 23 and 92; three box culverts; rehabilitation of the stone arch bridge; and widening of Co Rd. 86. A couple other culvert projects are planned, but funding has not yet been received.
Bergman also reviewed projects planned through 2027 as well as projects completed and funding received for road and bridge projects last year. In 2023, the county received $5,625,959 in various forms of state funding and spent $154,091 of local funds for road and bridge projects, for a total of $5,780,050. Of that amount, $3,149,559 was spent on 10 overlay projects, and $2,630,491 was spent on 13 bridge or culvert projects.
Bergman also provided information about Minnesota Department of Transportation projects planned in Pipestone County over the next 10 years. Those projects include resurfacing Hwy. 23 from Hwy. 75 to two miles north of Hwy. 91 and resurfacing the bridge deck in Pipestone this year; installation of an automated speed curve warning system on Hwy. 30 from the Minnesota/South Dakota state line to two miles east in 2025; and resurfacing of Hwy. 75 from south of Pipestone to Trosky in 2026; resurfacing of Hwy. 30 from the state line to Pipestone and resurfacing of Hwy. 75 from County Road 34 to Hwy. 30 in Pipestone in 2029, surfacing of Hwy. 30 from Hwy. 75 in Pipestone to Lake Wilson in 2030, resurfacing of Hwy. 75 from Pipestone Creek to Lake Benton in 2031, and replacing the bridge on Hwy. 30 3.5 miles west of the Pipestone/Murray County line in 2033.
Bergman said the county will take input gathered during the annual road and bridge hearing into account when developing an updated five-year road and bridge plan. He and the county commissioners will discuss that plan and the commissioners will adopt it later this year. Once it’s approved the updated five-year plan will be available on the county’s website at www.pipestone-county.com by clicking on the Government tab and then Departments and selecting Highway.
