The consequences of near record snowfall and heavy spring runoff continue to plague city and county road departments in North Dakota. The backlog of to-be-repaired washouts, potholes and damaged road beds has crews working overtime and local governments spending every dollar available for gravel, culverts, bridges and the man-hours necessary to operatedthe heavy equipment needed to get the job done.

The Morton County Commission wants to reach out to a private company to do its annual gravel work, freeing up the county crews to handle the high-priority repairs made necessary by the heavy runoff and flooding rivers and streams.

It's the logical thing to do. However, finding an available and qualified contractor, given the hyper construction season, may be impossible.

The county is willing to pay. Soon-to-retire Morton County Road Superintendent Chuck Morman figures four weeks of work by a private contractor on Morton's miles and miles of gravel road would cost about $200,000. The thing is, nearly every county in the state is in the same shape.

Don't expect the county road crews to finish their part of the job anytime soon. Morman counts nearly 600 infrastructure sites damaged by floods in Morton County.

Money may not be able to buy you love and, apparently, it might not be able to buy road repairs this summer either.

River Road needs work

River Road between Steamboat Park and Keelboat Park was closed June 23 because the road had begun to slump. The Missouri River beach below the road was closed June 26 for fear chunks of road would slide down onto the beach, a public safety issue.

That's all fine and well, but the city of Bismarck's response to the need for repair of River Road has been lackadaisical. Jeff Heintz, service operations director, told the Tribune that the city continues to work on a plan, and will hire a consultant, a geotechnical engineering firm, and also consult with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Does that mean River Road will be repaired in the foreseeable future? This construction season?

The unstable nature of the river bluff in that area has been an issue for as long as Bismarck has been Bismarck. The city had some forewarning of the problem and should have been better prepared.

River Road might not get the traffic of arterials in Bismarck, but it is a key part of the city's quality of life and should demand more of the city's attention.