Starke County Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler updated the commissioners Monday night on the Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) and Local Roads and Streets (LRS) Funds.
The state shutdown due to COVID-19 caused a shortfall in funding for those two budgets which Ritzler says will create a great loss of funding for the rest of the year. The department is working to deal with current losses in the MVH Fund.
“Right now we’re seven percent down for the year which is a loss of about $140,000,” commented Ritzler. “The worst case scenario for the year I think we’re going to be at 15 percent down which would be about a $500,000 loss. We could still absorb that without significance, but anything more than that would be a problem.”
The highway department was the recipient of the asphalt millings from recent paving projects by the state. County crews use the millings to create material to improve other county roads which reduces the cost.
Ritzler commented that the highway department has been doing well with productivity this year. He noted that 55.715 miles of various types of road improvements have been done in the county. They are on track to complete 85 miles of road improvements in 2020.
