Invenergy requests road closure on one-mile stretch

Invenergy has requested the permanent closure of a stretch of road near its Thunderhead wind project in southwest Antelope County.

County highway superintendent Brian McDonald spoke to the board of commissioners Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Neligh about the renewable energy company's request to close 841 Road between 510 and 511 avenues.

"There are two wind tower driveways at the very west end of this," McDonald said. "I think they're probably on the Wheeler side of the county line.

"There's also an additional driveway about halfway through on the south side," he said. "There are some powerlines on the north half mile on the east side, or the north side of the road, east half mile."

He expressed his concern about Invenergy's request to close this particular portion of road, which is located about 15 miles southwest of Clearwater.

"If we close this road, the center of the north section is landlocked," McDonald said. "I know it's all family-owned property. I don't know how the relations work in that thing.

"The only way that I'd recommend you guys consider closing it is if you have an agreement that gets wind towers dealt with and that you have an easement for the two north properties," he said.

"On that whole mile or just the half a mile?" board chair Charlie Henery asked.

McDonald explained more about the stretch of road the company wants to have closed.

"If you look at that north side on the first quarter mile, that property – from the east – has access," he said. "The second half mile in the middle there doesn't.

"To me, I wouldn't close that road unless I had an easement for that property and then the one located on the north side of the far west," he said.

McDonald explained he did not have a problem with Invenergy wanting to close the road.

"I'd make sure we tell Wheeler County that we're looking at closing this road because their road is not a very good one to the west," McDonald said.

"The towers need to get access," he said. "If they've got that worked out and those two properties have an easement to get access, like I said, that's the only way I'd move forward on the closure."

In a follow-up interview, county road superintendent Aaron Boggs provided more explanation for the company's road-closure request.

"What they want to do is close the road so they don't have to upgrade it," he said. "If they don't close it, then it's got to be another upgraded road."

Boggs described 841 Road between 510 and 511 avenues as "a sand-trail, gravel-ish road."

"The problem is, you're going to go from a local road, which is right above a minimum maintenance, to an upgraded, 26-foot-wide road for $160,000, $200,000 worth a mile," he said. "It's cheaper for them to close it."

Boggs noted the county does not need access to the stretch of road that Invenergy wants to have closed.

"They'll maintain it, they'll keep it upgraded so they can get to their wind towers," he said. "It's going to be better than it was, but not as good as what the new standards are."

Like McDonald, Boggs wanted to make sure the possible road closure would not landlock any farmers in that area.

"If they put an easement in, it won't," Boggs said. "You can have a right-of-way easement or a driveway easement to access their property."

If that portion of 841 Road is closed, gates would be installed at each end of that stretch along with road-closed signs.

For people who would like to provide their input on the requested road closure, the commissioners have scheduled a public hearing on the topic for 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 2.

The commissioners will meet on that day at the county courthouse in Neligh instead of on the first Tuesday of the month as usual because Tuesday, Nov. 3, is Election Day.

In related news, the commissioners received an update from Boggs during their meeting on a road-use agreement for the Thunderhead wind project.

"We had a meeting with Invenergy and pretty much talked about what we wanted to do as far as the asphalt plan, but it led into the rest of the road-use agreement as well," Boggs said.

"They're looking to remove some portions of the roads after we reviewed them to help start getting the RUA closed," he said.

He noted the company will have hot mix asphalt applied for patchwork on 516 Avenue from U.S. Highway 275 in Clearwater south to 848 Road as part of the road-use agreement.

In addition, Invenergy recently supplied the gravel trucking for the county as it applied armor coating – which is created using an asphalt emulsion and a cover aggregate – on 848 Road from 516 Avenue east to Nebraska Highway 14 just southwest of Neligh.

"Part of that agreement was that Invenergy donated the trucking of the gravel to help with the armor coating," Boggs said.

He mentioned the company will have hot mix asphalt applied for patchwork on 513 Avenue north of Nebraska Highway 70 in the southwest part of the county to satisfy the condition of as-good or better under the road-use agreement.

Invenergy also has agreed to obtain the county road department's signoff on any repairs done to 513 Avenue due to crane crossing damage.

Boggs noted the company will have 511 Avenue milled from 837 Road to 838 Road in the southwest part of the county, the millings graded and gravel placed on top of the road.

Invenergy also has agreed to donate $30,000 to the county to cover the cost of a four-inch overlay of a crushed rock base for a half mile that the county will install at a time of its choosing.

"They have agreed to grind and lay back down that last mile of road, which I believe is already done," Boggs said. "Then they are going to cut us a check for $30,000 to cover their half-mile portion of the road."