By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Straight-Line Striping continues to impress Barton County officials. The company based in Grand Island, Neb. was again awarded a bid for striping county roads in March. During Tuesday’s Barton County Commission meeting, County Works Director Chris Schartz provided an update to the board.
“That work included centerline and edge-line striping on approximately 97 miles of county blacktop roadway,” Schartz said. “Straight-Line Striping was awarded the bid for $112,311.45. After the award, we did add a couple of additional projects that caused the cost to increase.”
Seventh Street in Ellinwood is actually a county blacktop even though it runs through the city of Ellinwood. Schartz said it was hot-mixed overlayed approximately eight years ago, and the county added a seal this year. Seventh Street and the bridge on McKinley Street just north of Great Bend were added to the striping project.
“With those two additional projects, the actual cost of the striping was $115,191.90,” said Schartz. “With the overage of $2,880.45, I ask the difference be paid from the road and bridge fund.”
The road work in the county is commonly referred to as a hot-mix overlay. Schartz explained Tuesday that Venture prepares the hot mix, but the county does not lay it down immediately. Instead, the county uses graders for its “hot-mix cold-lay” overlays at a later time.