Jefferson County Files for Grant to Complete PWF Road

By Gordon HopkinsAfter two months of hard work involving numerous county offices, lawmakers and a host of others, Jefferson County has filed for a grant to complete the long-delayed final stretch of the PWF (Pawnee City, Wymore, Fairbury) Road, as well as perform a number of much-needed repairs and upgrades. The grant will permit Jefferson County to complete the remaining seven miles of construction of the PWF road. The initial six miles was paid for by the county and completed in 2016 but the county was not able to afford to complete construction.The county hired High Street Consulting Group to write the grant. The CEO of High Street Consulting is Kyle Schneweis, who was formerly the director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT).While the cost of hiring High Street is $73,000, Jefferson County Commissioners point out that the projected cost to complete the road is more than $10 million. In this project, the PWF Road will undergo pavement removal, roadway grading, culvert removal and placement, box culvert construction, concrete paving, erosion control, seeding, bridge deck removal, bridge deck construction and constructing a new an 80-foot concrete girder bridge.The grant application explains why commissioners feel this project is necessary, “Today, the seven-mile section of PWF Road encompassed by the project is made of asphalt, is full of potholes, and lacks guard rails. In the last 30 years, despite annual maintenance activities, PWF Road has fallen into a state of disrepair so great that it is unsafe for residents, employees, emergency first responders and travelers. In poor weather, these conditions worsen and present an even greater safety risk. PWF Road is made of 30-plus-year-old asphalt that varies in depth between five to 10 inches, much of which is patched with cement. It has severe subgrade issues in numerous areas that can only be addressed through full-depth repair.”According to Diller Fire and Rescue Chief Jeff Nelson the problem is so severe that road conditions make it “hard for [EMS] to treat a patient” in an ambulance on the road.Glenn Behrends, Village of Diller Board Chairman, is quoted in the grant application, “People are refusing to drive on PWF Road to Fairbury because it is too rough and dangerous. The poor condition of the road is forcing community members to drive to Beatrice for necessities, groceries, parts, etc. Business and residents are forced to take alternate routes to avoid traveling on PWF Road. This results in a loss of fuel and time, in addition to a loss of tax revenue for Jefferson County.”The requested amount for the project is $10,124,000. The county is therefore looking for funding through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant program, a federal grant intended to support projects to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas.Commissioner Chairman Mark Schoenrock issued a statement, “I am happy to report that we successfully completed and submitted the Jefferson County PWF Rural Surface Transportation grant application to US Department of Transportation today. It was eight weeks of intensive preparation and coordination in which we had many meetings, reviews, phone calls and zoom meetings, but I feel like we have completed a competitive application in which we have given it our best shot. The firm that we engaged to prepare the application, High Street, was excellent. We had specialists from all over the United States working on this for us, it was a great team effort.”High Street recommended submitting letters of support as part of the grant application process. Included with the application are letters of support from Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, Senator Deb Fischer, from Congressman Adrian Smith, from Director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation John Selmer, as well as letters from local officials, including Mike Meyerle, Superintendent of Diller-Odell Schools, and Jeff Nelson, Diller Fire Chief.Governor Ricketts wrote in his letter, “The project will have a vast positive economic impact on this region of southeast Nebraska, improving mobility of people and business, freight and agricultural products movement, job creation, reducing the cost of doing business and improving local and regional freight connectivity to the national and global economy, decreasing transportation costs, significantly improving the economic strength of southeast Nebraska, and increasing the economic productivity of land, capital, and labor between this distinct rural area and economic markets near and far. The project will promote energy efficiencies, and will support fiscally responsible land use and transportation efficient design. It will remove barriers to opportunity, improve quality of life in this rural area and will significantly engage nearby communities.”County commissioners remain optimistic that the grant application will be successful. Schoenrock noted, “Now, we wait to hear the outcome, which will probably be late summer, early fall.”

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