SHERIDAN — Red Grade Road may be getting a facelift in the near future.
Sheridan County sent in an application last week for dollars from the Federal Lands Access Program to help fund a $13.3 million reconstruction of the road, which would widen the existing road while adding a new guardrail, slope armoring, drainage improvements and gravel surfacing.
The potential project covers 10.9 miles of road stretching from the start of Red Grade in Big Horn to its intersection with the road to Park Reservoir.
The proposed improvements to Red Grade come as the road has seen an increase in usage this summer, according to Sheridan County engineer Ken Muller.
“Red Grade Road is a very popular road, and it keeps increasing in popularity,” Muller said. “Our last count showed about a 30% increase in traffic over our previous counts. There are a lot of different factors — not just COVID and people exploring the great outdoors, but it’s just a popular area.”
The project, if approved for funding, would begin in fiscal year 2025, according to Muller. If the project moves forward, there will be opportunities for public comment and involvement, Muller said.
The federal government covers roughly 80% of the costs of all FLAP projects, according to the Federal Highway Administration. This means the federal share of the Red Grade reconstruction will come out to roughly $10.6 million. The county will have to pursue other funding sources for the remaining $2.7 million.
The Federal Lands Access Program was created to fund improvements to state and local roads that provide access to and through federal lands. FLAP funds are eligible for planning, engineering, restoration, construction and reconstruction on local roads.
While the county will have to wait on the FLAP funds, commissioners approved a more immediate change to Red Grade Road during their Nov. 17 meeting. Red Grade was one of two county routes enrolled in the state’s off-road recreational vehicle trails program following the approval of a memorandum of understanding between the county and the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. Three Poles Recreation Area was also added to the state trails map.
Under the MOU, the state trails program will provide route marking and signage for the routes, while also allowing the county to receive partnership grants that could fund maintenance at Red Grade and Three Poles. In return, the county will work to increase public awareness of the responsible and ethical use of off-road recreational vehicles.
“It will just be beneficial as an opportunity for potential grant funds from the trails program and recognition of those two routes now on the state trails map,” county administrative director Renee Obermueller said.
In other county news:
• Sheridan County commissioners unanimously approved the first changes to their county personnel policy since 2014 last week.
Obermueller said the changes were the results of an intensive process that lasted more than a year. Changes include updates to the code of ethics and conflicts of interest sections, and the health plan section was updated to be made consistent with the Affordable Care Act, Obermueller said.
But the communications systems sections of the policy saw the most changes, Obermueller said.
“Perhaps the biggest changes we made were in the addition of a social media section stipulating how employees cannot use the county’s computers, cellphones and equipment to state their personal opinions,” Obermueller said. “We really tailored that section of the guidelines around how that could affect the county if our employees use our equipment in that way. In the environment we’re in regards to social media, it reminds our employees that there is a standard we adhere to.”
• Commissioners submitted their second application for Coronavirus Relief Grant dollars from the State Loan and Investment Board.
After receiving $541,765 earlier this year from the SLIB, the county is applying for an additional $912,602, according to Obermueller. If the allocation is granted by the SLIB, the county will have received all of the coronavirus relief grant dollars allocated to it by the state, Obermueller said.
Obermueller said the additional funding will be used to reimburse various COVID-related expenses in the county — not just protective equipment but staff salaries and benefits when appropriate.
“This is generally based on the opinion through the U.S. Treasury that all personnel in public safety and public health are substantially dedicating their time to coronavirus relief or mitigation and response,” Obermueller said. “We know we’ve had to repurpose staff, and certainly some of their duties have changed. We are not only recouping the dollars we’ve spent on PPE but also hope to be reimbursed on salaries and benefits for those who have been focusing their efforts on COVID.”
• Commissioners voted unanimously on Nov. 17 to approve a lease agreement with Spin-A-Lure Manufacturing that will last for 10 to 20 years.
Spin-A-Lure has been based out of the Sheridan County Airport’s building No. 14 — a 2,400 square feet building — since 1988 when they assumed an existing 40-year lease that started in 1980, according to Airport Operations Supervisor Robert Gill. The current lease agreement will expire Nov. 25.
The new lease will last for 10 years, according to Gill, with the option to renew for an additional 10 years. Spin-a-Lure will pay rent of $400 per month with an increase based on the Wyoming Cost of Living Index imposed every two years, according to Gill.
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November 24, 2020 at 01:00AM
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Improvements ahead for Red Grade Road | Local News - The Sheridan Press
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