The director of the Tippecanoe County Highway Department says more than 80 miles of county roads are in need of repair.
Opal Kuhl says in a normal year, crews will fix only about half that many.
She says road conditions are the worst she’s seen in 25 years.
As a result, she says it won’t be possible this year to address all the roads that need work.
And Kuhl isn’t sure yet if her department will need an additional appropriation from the County Council to repair the roads that need it most.
“The work we’re doing is a lot more labor intensive than just putting two inches of asphalt—we can do that in a day on a mile of road," says Kuhl. "But a lot of the roads we have now we’re having to regrade, bring in new stone and kind of build the whole base up before we start.”
Kuhl says Tippecanoe is not the only county facing this problem.
“Pretty much the northern part of the state," says Kuhl. "Some in the southern part of the state but not as much. But when I talk to all of my colleagues around this area they all have the same problems and they’re all still working on the patching trying to get them put back together.”
Kuhl says crews are still determining which roads need to be fixed now and which can wait until next year—and how much it will all cost.
She says it’s possible her department will need an additional appropriation from the County Council to get the work done.