New Road Service Contracts for the Upper Valley

New contracts have been approved for Trapper Creek, Talkeetna, Caswell Lakes, and Willow road service areas, or RSAs. While the contracts vary somewhat in scope, they all will cover regular maintenance and smaller construction projects. 

According to Mat-Su Borough Purchasing Director Russ Krafft, regular maintenance includes those things most visible to residents.  

“Snow plowing during the winter, grading during the summer, brush cutting, pulling ditches. That type of stuff.”

Krafft says that in addition to regular maintenance, contractors also will take on smaller construction projects, like replacing culverts, as part of the contract. Those projects will vary depending on the road service area.

The contractors might also take on periodic maintenance, like crack sealing and striping. 

“The crack sealing and the construction are all paid separately. Those are not included in that per-mile cost.”

Krafft says the contracts are one-year agreements with the option for the contractor to extend for two one-year cycles. The term ends after three years.

When the contracts were originally proposed for this term, contractors submitted bids for a 12-inch snow berm. Last year, some contracts included a no-berm policy, which added costs to the contract, but meant no snow berms in front of driveways.

“The RSA 29 Board has requested that the Borough opt for the no-berm in Talkeetna.” 

Krafft went on to say there was not yet the money in the budget for the no-berm request in Talkeetna, but they were working with the Borough to try to make it happen through the budget process. Trapper Creek, Willow, and Caswell Lakes have not made a no-berm request to date.

The per-mile cost has increased in most cases, but Krafft cautions that is not the only factor in determining if these contracts will cost residents more. It could mean that fewer construction projects get completed. In addition, he says many of the previous lower prices were in the old contract structure and established three to five years ago. And, the Borough used to supply some materials for the projects, but that has changed.

“We would supply salted sand and chips to the contractors that they apply. They’re not really that cheap.” 

Now, the contractor is responsible for providing those materials. Krafft says the RSAs were once billed for those separately.

The new contracts will take effect in the next fiscal year, which will begin July 1st.

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