Cruising county roads in a large van Thursday, Highway director Sue Miller explained to Freeborn County commissioners her department’s five-year plan, which includes creating about 30 miles of ten-ton roads to encourage business.

Right now, she said 85 percent of county roads can hold seven tons or less. The five-year plan, which will be up for board approval along with her budget in December, would whittle that percentage to 75 percent.

The system would frame Albert Lea with ten-ton roads along county roads 26, 25, 14, 17 and 13. Ten- and fifteen-year plans would expand the system to 120 miles of ten-ton roads.

She also recommended passing a tax on aggregate hauled into the county. She mentioned the idea to commissioners for the first time Wednesday, at a budget workshop.

She said that she didn’t have a specific proposal on the amount, but state law requires that 60 percent of the revenue goes to maintain county roads, 30 percent to townships and 10 to fill in aggregate pits.

The tour came a day after the commissioners and Miller reviewed her budget in a county workshop. The tour, she said, was a chance for commissioners to see for themselves some of her department’s ideas. As the commissioners face the task of setting a budget for next year, they must decide just how much to give Miller’s department, and whether to take her recommendations.

She suggested that commissioners pass a resolution to make builders pay for the entire cost of driveways that run directly into county roads, in order to keep their number small. Now, the county pays half the cost.

&uot;Those are costs you can’t predict on a year’s budget,&uot; she said.

She explained that access paths have a potential for serious accidents and should be kept at a minimum. For example, if someone steers off the road and hits a raised driveway, they may fly into the air and turn over, rather than going into a cornfield. She said potential lawsuits might result from these accidents. She said water buildup also causes damage to the roads.

She reminded commissioners of the need for regular maintenance. On a stretch of County Road 12, she pointed out the strips of grass criss-crossing the road. &uot;When you start seeing more green than black, you know it needs maintenance,&uot; she joked.

She also pointed out that Bridge Avenue will need work soon, and commissioners need to consider expanding it to accommodate traffic.

Commissioner Glen Mathiason said her ideas looked good but was cautious about making any definite statements.He said the tight budget is a factor.

He said he’d only first heard about the aggregate-tax proposal Thursday, and said it sounded reasonable, but he needed to know more about it.

Commissioner Dan Belshan, who usually looks to save money, said he thought Miller was &uot;on the money&uot; with her five-year plan to increase ten-ton roads. &uot;I’m for anything that will bring money into the county,&uot; he said.

He said he had to learn more about aggregate taxes, and discuss it with businesses, before forming an opinion.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)