The Summit Board of County Commissioners told its road and bridge department that making repairs to Swan Mountain Road should be a priority next year.

The commissioners on Tuesday, Sept. 24, began a preliminary discussion about the road and bridge department budget for the coming year. County road and bridge director Robert Jacobs said at the meeting that Swan Mountain Road is among the most important roads maintained by the county government.

“That road, as you know, it is our most important highway. It is our most important county road,” Jacobs said. “It’s county road No. 1, and it’s in one of the worst shapes of all the roads in the county.”

The project next year would focus on the stretch of Swan Mountain Road down to Summit Cove, “which is one of the worst sections,” Jacobs said. He said that the road and bridge department plans to spend about $6 million on the project next year.

Jacobs said that an additional $100,000 to $150,000 should be budgeted to design future phases of repairs to Swan Mountain Road. The county will need to make investments in the road in 2026 and 2027 to get the road surface reconstructed and “the very worst of the guard” replaced from Sapphire Point to Farmers Korner, he said.

Commissioner Tamara Pogue said that Swan Mountain Road is in need of repairs so badly that, “we don’t have a choice, and we have to get started.”

Commissioner Nina Waters agreed and called on county officials to look for additional funding sources to help aid the expensive road project.

“I think we have to move forward with it,” Waters said. “In the meantime, everyone in this room start racking our minds about how we’re going to pay for this because I know it’s going to be a major hit to our budget, but it’s an absolutely necessary thing we have to do.”

Pogue asked whether prioritizing the Swan Mountain Road project will delay other road improvements needed throughout the county.

Jacobs noted that some of those other smaller projects may have to be put off, unless additional funding can be found. But he noted that the Swan Mountain Road project “serves everybody” and allows the county to put the road on a 10-year maintenance cycle that will help keep costs lower in the future.

“Once (Swan Mountain Road) is constructed properly, we can put it on a 10-year maintenance cycle that costs us significantly less than what it’s going to cost us to reconstruct it, which as you know, we’re beyond maintenance on that road,” Jacobs said.

Commissioner Eric Mamula said that road maintenance is important enough to divert money from other sources, if necessary.

“I think one of the highest obligations of county government is to take care of these roads,” Mamula said. “As we go into the budget process, if there are other things that we have to pinch on, I think we’re behind the eight-ball on this. We really need to get on this track that you’re laying out right now to get to where we need to be.”

As the budget talks continue, Jacobs said that he will return with a list of the smaller projects throughout the county for the commissioners to review. 

Jacobs also discussed the design of a recpath along Little Beaver Trail in unincorporated Dillon with the commissioners. He outlined two options for designing the path: a cheaper option costing about $2.3 million with limited retaining walls and a more expensive but safer option costing about $3.5 million with extensive retaining walls.

County staff wrote in a memo to the commissioners that the Little Beaver Trail multiuse path could be a good candidate for receiving a construction grant.

“If we could cover the more expensive option with grant funds, I’d rather see us do the safer option,” Pogue said. “Obviously that is not a particularly safe right-of-way right now. But if we are not able to access grant funds, I’ll take the cheaper option.”

But Jacobs told the commissioners that at this point, a decision has to be made about which option to design, and then a grant can be sought for what has been designed. He said it could cost between $5,000-$15,000 to change designs later to the other option.

The commissioners said that a couple thousand dollar cost could be worth it to potentially change the designs later, if it does not receive a grant to help fund it.

Pogue instructed county staff to “design it to the highest safety standard, and if we can’t get grants, let’s have another conversation about what to do.”