The Summit Board of County Commissioners is hanging onto hope that it could find significant grant funding to help cover the cost of major repairs to Swan Mountain Road.

But if grant funding does not come through, the commissioners are prepared to invest almost $11 million into road reconstruction in Summit County next year. Summit County finance director David Reynolds told the commissioners at a work session Tuesday, Nov. 26, that that would be the largest one-year investment in roads the county has ever made.

“We’re making our largest investment in road and bridge construction ever in Summit County at $10.8 million,” Reynolds said. “But we wouldn’t quite be able to sustain the level for a number of years. It would have to drop a couple million.”

The draft 2025 road and bridge budget estimates expenditures totaling $18.6 million, including $10.8 million in road construction projects, with the remainder designated for payroll, equipment leases and other expenses.

The draft 2025 road and bridge budget includes $6.5 million to start the reconstruction of Swan Mountain Road, a well-traveled mountain pass that the commissioners have said is in desperate need of repairs. It also includes $2 million for reconstruction of Straight Creek Drive, $700,000 for reconstruction of Highwood Terrace and $300,000 for reconstruction of Forest Drive.

In the road and bridge department’s five-year plan, the total cost of the Swan Mountain Road reconstruction is split between 2025, 2026 and 2027.

But Summit County grant administrator Shannon Brown told the commissioners at the work session that the county has a shot at receiving a federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant that could cover the costs of the Swan Mountain Road project.

The grant funding could bring almost $20 million toward the Swan Mountain Road project, allowing it to be done better and a shorter time span than three years, according to the Summit County government. 

The county applied to the grant program this year and received an overall score of “highly recommended,” Brown said. To increase competitiveness in the 2025 funding cycle, the county could work to engage hard-to-reach populations and include a 20% match of about $5 million, she said.

Only about 14% of applications were awarded grant funds, but Summit County advanced to the top 30% of applicants in 2024, Brown said. She said the county can request to have the 2024 application reconsidered, and hear back within a few months whether it has received funding.

But if the county applied for the 2025 funding cycle, it likely wouldn’t hear back about the grant until next June, so construction on the road wouldn’t be able to begin until 2026, Brown said, asking what the commissioners would like to do.

“The good news is we know we have a highly competitive application,” Brown said.

Commissioner Eric Mamula suggested that perhaps the county could work with its contractors to have one set of plans to focus on other roads while holding off construction on Swan Mountain Road until 2026 if it receives the grant in June, and another set of plans to move ahead with construction next year if the county doesn’t receive the grant.

Summit County road and bridge director Robert Jacobs said that he would have to talk to contractors about whether something like that is possible.

Commissioner Tamara Pogue, noting that the county government has discussed reconstruction of Swan Mountain Road as a priority, said, “I’m hesitant to put off Swan.”

Pogue instructed Jacobs to discuss that possibility with contractors and told Brown to move ahead with applying for reconsideration for the 2024 grant cycle. She said the commission would consider whether to hold off Swan Mountain Road construction to apply for the 2025 grant cycle at a future date, once it has information on the contractors’ flexibility.

The county’s road and bridge fund receives about $15 million in revenues annually, with the largest chunk of that, about $6.8 million, coming from sales taxes, Reynold said. State and federal grants generate about $3.4 million for the road and bridge projects, while property tax generates about $2 million for the fund, he said.

The county plans to spend about $2.4 million more on road projects next year than it generates in revenue, leaving the road and bridge fund with an end balance of about $1.4 million. Reynolds said that this means the county is, “really investing about all we can pull together in construction and maintenance to improve Summit County roads.”

In the road and bridge department’s five-year plan, Swan Mountain Road would receive an estimated $4.8 million investment and Copper area roads would receive a mill and overlay estimated at $1.3 million in 2026.

In 2027, there are plans for another $5.5 million investment for the Swan Mountain Road reconstruction as well as $400,000 for Snowberry Way reconstruction, $350,000 for Aspen Drive reconstruction and $300,000 for Lone Wolf Court reconstruction.

In 2028, the five-year plan calls for $2.7 million for Baldy Road reconstruction, $2 million for Heeney Road reconstruction, $1.8 million for work at Royal Buffalo Drive and $250,000 for Solomons Lane reconstruction.

In 2029, the plan includes an additional $3.8 million for Heeney Road among other smaller projects.

Jacobs said that if the county receives grant funding for Swan Mountain Road, these other projects could be reprioritized.