August Newsletter
Happy August!
Our newsletter this month features our roads supervisor, Rita. Enjoy!
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We joke about having two seasons in Minnesota – winter and road construction. In the case of our township, we generally do more road maintenance than road construction in the summer.
We maintain 19 miles of gravel roads. Each year we assess which roads need to have gravel added to them. Some roads need attention more frequently than others due to higher traffic and other factors. We graveled 2.1 miles of roads last year plus substantial spot graveling and will be graveling 2.5 miles this year with some spot graveling. (Spot graveling is where we add gravel to a spot on a road where needed, but we don’t gravel the entire road.) We expect gravel to be delivered by August 1st this year. We have a couple of smaller repairs to complete as well – replacing a culvert and dredging a ditch – which should be done around the same time as the graveling.
We maintain 7 miles of paved roads. We began crack sealing paved roads, where appropriate, last year beginning with the center section of Little Bass Lake Rd., then moving on to Filbert and Timber Ridge. This year we’ll be crack sealing on Tall Pines. Last year we also did substantial asphalt patching on Knollwood and Little Bass Lake Rd. This year we’re doing even more asphalt patching on Little Bass Lake Rd. and Big Bass Rd. (north of the intersection with Little Bass Lake Rd.).
To better plan for the future of our paved roads, we’ve engaged Freeberg & Grund to review our paved roads (excepting Little Bass Lake Rd. which they’ve already assessed). They will make recommendations regarding pavement maintenance, reconstruction options, and pavement life expectancy. That report should be completed in early August.
We've also received some questions about storm cleanup. Read about Storm Cleanup here: Turtle River Township in Beltrami County, Minnesota
Read about How a Disaster Declaration Works here: Turtle River Township in Beltrami County, Minnesota
I look forward to seeing you out on the roads!
Feel free to email me if you have any questions: turtleriversup5@gmail.com.
Rita Chamblin, Road Supervisor, Turtle River Township