Road Contracts Approved for Talkeetna, Willow

Road contracts for the greater Talkeetna and Willow Road Service Areas, or RSAs, were approved at this week’s Assembly meeting.

Both areas will be served by Alaska Resource Group, doing business as D and S Road Service. The contracts are each for one year, with the option for two one-year extensions. 

The contracts are now separated into routine and periodic maintenance and public construction. Routine maintenance includes snow plowing. Periodic maintenance includes items like crack sealing. Public construction includes larger projects, such as reconditioning and grading. Each contract totals more than 730,000 dollars for the year. 

Both the Willow and Talkeetna contracts include a no-berm policy, meaning the contractor cannot leave snow berms when plowing next winter. The current policy is to allow a 12-inch berm in driveways.

The contractor will be required to have some sort of cellular-capable tracking device, such as a phone or tablet. This will make it easier for the superintendents to know what work is being completed and where. The public also will eventually be able to view some of the tracking information on a website, though the information will operate on a delay for security reasons.

Both the Talkeetna and Willow RSA contracts will be reevaluated next year for continuation.