Following winter maintenance, grader work is completed to reshape the County roads and re-establish ditches. The bulk of this work is to cut the surface at least to the bottom of the deepest potholes and re-lay the material at a minimum 2% crown.
While reshaping the roads, supervisors are also making assessments to determine which roads need additional maintenance prior to dust abatement, including brush cutting, tree removal, dig-outs, correction of any drainage problems and the need for additional surface gravel.
A week prior to dust abatement application, a grader crew is dispatched to do final preparations of the road surfaces since several weeks may have elapsed between spring re-shaping and the dust abatement application.
The day of application, the grader operators are scarifying the road surface (with carbide tips on the moldboard) one to two inches in depth to ensure maximum penetration of dust palliative. A water truck is assigned with the graders and distributors to water road surfaces in order to maintain optimum moisture content.
If dust palliative is not applied within 24 hours of preparation, the road shall be re-prepped before application. Re-prepping the road may be significantly delayed due to workload and scheduling.
During the day(s) of application of dust palliative, the County may randomly test each distribution truck with a hydrometer to ensure that the palliative meets recommended concentrations.
Participation
If you would like to participate in the dust abatement program, please fill out the form below or call 406-258-3710.
Planning starts in late January/early February each year, so please look for an email around that time as we finalize the 'Proposed Abatement List' of roads that MCPW will cover. As in previous years, the county will be doing all of the work and contracting out for the magnesium chloride only.