Highway District 12 preliminary estimates of February road damage more than $11 million; higher final tally expected

HIGHWAY DISTRICT 12 (March 22, 2019) – Highway District 12 officials estimate the cost at more than $11 million to fix slides, slips, breaks, embankment failures, and other road damage that happened during February’s severe weather and flooding.

Darold Slone, Engineering Branch Manager, said preliminary totals for the seven-county state highway district equal $11,454,500.00. “That figure is always a low ballpark,” Slone explained. “The list that accompanies that total is the first one compiled to justify an emergency declaration for FEMA and the Federal Highway Administration. As we inspect each site thoroughly, the estimates change, and they almost always go up, not down.”

This is the county-by-county breakdown thus far:

• FLOYD COUNTY: Nine sites; preliminary estimate – $1,500,000.
• JOHNSON COUNTY: Forty-four sites; preliminary estimate – $1,701,000.000.
• KNOTT COUNTY: Fifty-one sites; preliminary estimate – $2,017,400.00.
• LAWRENCE COUNTY: Twenty-two sites; preliminary estimate – $663,000.00.
• LETCHER COUNTY: Seventy-two sites; preliminary estimate – $3,063,100.00.
• MARTIN COUNTY: Nine sites; preliminary estimate — $600,000.00
• PIKE COUNTY: Twenty-eight sites; preliminary estimate — $1,910,000.00.

District residents are understandably anxious to know when the particular roads they travel will be repaired. “As soon as funding is approved and a contractor is hired,” Slone said. “Some of the work can be done under a state master agreement. Other sites will have to be put out for bid. It just depends on what needs to be done.”

Chief District Engineer Mary Westfall-Holbrook explained that, as often as possible, the worst places will be fixed first. For example, if funding is approved for all the sites in Knott County at one time, the roads that are completely closed will be addressed first, then the ones that are down to one lane, and so on. “That is our plan,” she said. “Of course we may have situations where funding is not approved all at one time. In that case, we will take the worst places among the ones approved.”

Westfall-Holbrook said all the engineers and maintenance specialists at District 12 well understand the hardship and inconvenience people experience when their roads are closed or down to one lane. “We all live in the district,” she pointed out. “We drive the same roads as everyone else. Our children ride school buses. We not only know the problems, we have a vested interest in making sure repairs are done well and as quickly as possible after we get funding approval.”

When individual site work is scheduled, the media will be notified and the information posted on the district’s Facebook and Twitter pages.