Harvest Gold appears ready to make significant repairs to county roads that were affected by heavy traffic during the construction of the company’s solar farm last year. County Engineer Ron Cassada said that after initially stating that their subcontractor’s equipment caused little to no damage on Britt Road, Boyer-Steiner Road and Blaine Road, they have now marked about $75,000 worth of work, and the list of repairs may grow after next week.
“They have told me they can do a lot more than that,” Cassada told the board.
Harvest Gold has apparently marked eight total spots along those roads, but Cassada said that the county’s initial ride through identified 27 spots on Britt Road alone that needed to be repaired.
Cassada said that Harvest Gold is struggling to get reasonable quotes from contractors for the repairs. They have asked him to assist the company with partnering with local contractors in hopes of getting better pricing.
Meanwhile, District 1 Supervisor Glenn Donald said that the damage caused to at least one road, Boyer-Steiner, is causing car accidents.
He also noted that the damage should have been repaired after the last of the heavy equipment left the county earlier this year.
Donald said that with summer coming to an end in two months, a rainy fall might delay the repairs even more.
“We need them to hurry up before somebody gets killed,” Donald said.
Cassada told the board that the county should repair dangerous areas of roads, regardless of the current negotiations.
Cassada is scheduled to ride the roads with Harvest Gold representatives next week to try and settle the number of needed repairs so that the work can begin as soon as possible.
