County frustrated with progress of new Road & Bridge buildings

Commissioner Deb Craft was acting chair at the Big Horn County Commissioners meeting on November 19. The other commissioner in attendance was Dave Neves.

One topic discussed during the road/bridge/engineering reports to the commissioner was the county’s new truck barn in Lovell. None of the bay doors are functional. They also do not match in terms of color. Two were put up six months ago; the other three were recently put up. In addition, the gutters aren’t up, and the heaters aren’t working. The building project was started more than a year ago, and both the commissioners and the Road & Bridge supervisors are frustrated with the length of time the work has taken.

Road & Bridge north end supervisor Eric Mann said he had hopes to use the building this winter to keep the snowplows, trucks and other equipment warm. 

The south end building is also not complete, as it is missing some insulation and new overhead doors.

The commissioners were given an update on Trapper Creek Road. Complaints were received about the condition of the road. County crews knocked down the high spots and put pit run on the road. 

The crews have been cleaning out cattle guards throughout the county, hauling gravel and vehicle maintenance. 

Road & Bridge south end supervisor Shannan Hovey reported that the county engineer Willie Bridges met with the contractor for the Leavitt Reservoir. They discussed some potholes on the road to the reservoir caused by the heavy construction equipment. Hovey said the company ground off some of the big humps, then used their 30-ton roller on the road to make it easier for the county to snowplow. He said they did a nice job.

Acting county engineer Matt Leonhardt told the commissioners that the Sidon road crossings were recommended for funding by Wyoming Water Development. The project will go before the legislature in the spring. 

Quotes for the box culvert on Road 16 have come in. There was only one quote. It was for $121,219.78. 

 OTHER BUSINESS

• Carlin Jones attended the meeting to discuss establishing a perpetual county easement on Lane 39. There was also some discussion about Google Maps routing people incorrectly.

• Five access permits were approved.

• The Land Planning and Airport portion of the meeting included discussion about the renewal of the lease for the Museum of Flight and Aerial Firefighting and a poker run sponsored by the Sheridan Pilots Association that brought 13 airplanes to the airport.

Two subdivision requests — one in Deaver, one in Shell — were approved.