York County adopts one- and six-year road and bridge plan after public hearing

York County commissioners on Tuesday approved the county's one- and six-year road and bridge program after a public hearing in which roads staff summarized the projects and residents asked for clearer timing.

Roads staff told the board the one-year list contains mostly larger projects such as culvert replacements and rebuilding "inverted" road sections where the center is lower than the edges. Craig Heiney and Ashley Rasmussen said several projects were moved up from the six-year list and that the county will prioritize those that meet funding and safety thresholds. "We did add a couple of things, couple of roads that we want to rebuild that are getting technically inverted," a roads presenter said.

The hearing included public comment from resident Willard Peterson, who urged commissioners to remember the one-and-six plan is a guideline and said that, in his view, "When it says 1 and 6, that's simply a suggestion." Commissioners acknowledged the limits weather and equipment failures place on precise scheduling and asked staff to provide estimated calendar lengths or weeks for one-year projects when feasible. One commissioner asked for short "estimated time" windows for the one-year items so the public can better anticipate construction impacts.

After discussion, the board voted by roll call to adopt the plan. Commissioners and staff said they will provide routine updates during the construction season, and the roads office plans to prioritize communication with affected property owners and the public as projects move into active construction.

The decision was procedural and does not itself authorize contracts; staff noted larger bridge or overlay projects may be bid out or require separate board action.