Roads are removed from CART funding

CHARLESTON -- Removing some Mississippi County roads from the CART inventory will mean less CART funding but also less expense for the county.

Dave Luther of the Missouri Department of Transportation discussed findings of MoDOT's recent inventory of the county's roads that are eligible for County Aid Road Trust funding during the regular County Commission meeting Thursday.

Counties receive CART funding based on a complex formula which includes, among other things, the county's total mileage, according to County Clerk Junior DeLay.

"Dave Luther said an inventory of CART roads has not been performed in the county since 1996," DeLay said. "It was noted during their inventory that there are some county roads that have a portion of those roads gated off. They informed the Commission that in order to be eligible for CART funding, it could not be gated off."

Commissioners said they are aware of the gates as those are on dead-end roads, one of which hasn't been maintained by the county in many years.

In discussing portions of County Roads 519, 434, and 529, commissioners agreed to the removal of the gated portions' mileage from the county's CART inventory.

There are also bridges on those roads that, in order to be eligible for Off-

system Bridge Replacement funding, must be listed on CART inventories. Those bridges will no longer be on the federal inventory of bridges eligible for Off-System Bridge Replacement funding.

While removing the mileage and bridges from inventories will mean they no longer are counted when allocating CART and Off-System Bridge Replacement funding, commissioners had no objections.

"The County Commission is aware of it, they agreed to it," DeLay said. "These are dead end roads used primarily by farmers in that area, have no houses on them -- they lead to nowhere."

Commissioners indicated any lost revenue would be balanced by the county no longer having to spend money to pick up trash on those roads or maintain them.

In other business Thursday:

* Charleston City Manager Dan Gruen discussed with commissioners the possibility of the county and city working together to maintain the part of Ditch 14 that lies within Charleston's city limits for aesthetic purposes as well as general health and safety.

"The county agreed to go ahead and spray the ditch in the short term," DeLay said. "As for the long term, Mr. Gruen is going to consult with me and develop a proposal that will address long-term issues with the ditch. He's going to have to look into feasibility issues and things of that nature."

* DeLay was asked to draft a letter to AmerenUE and the SEMO Electric Co-op regarding the placement of utility poles.

The letter will ask that "before they place any utility poles they first contact the highway engineer, show where they plan on placing those poles and get his prior approval," DeLay said.

DeLay said there have apparently been some new utility poles placed too close to county roadways.

"They could create a potential hazard for motorists," DeLay said.

* Commissioners reappointed Edith Lough of rural Bertrand to another term on the county's library board.