Otter Tail County Seeks Bids for Road Resurfacing, Seal Coat Projects

County Engineer Jodi Teich is taking bids this month on two highway contracts that will put fresh pavement on a deteriorating County State Aid Highway 24 corridor near Erhard and extend the life of road surfaces across Otter Tail County's entire 1,067-mile network. Both bid packages carry a deadline of 1:00 p.m. on April 23, and the county is requiring contractors to submit electronically through its bidVault portal.

The CSAH 24 resurfacing, Project SAP 056-624-021, targets the 0.108-mile segment between Trunk Highway 59 and Park Avenue, roughly 570 feet of roadway that will be fully reclaimed, regraded and repaved with a new bituminous surface. That short corridor carries more work than its length suggests: crews will remove approximately 2,080 square feet of existing concrete sidewalk, excavate around 325 cubic yards of material and install new ADA-compliant curb ramps and sidewalks. For pedestrians who currently navigate aging or uneven access points along that stretch, the accessibility upgrades are the most direct change the project delivers. CSAH 24 is part of the county's 2026 road program guided by the recently approved Otter Tail County 2050 Transportation Plan, which the Board of Commissioners adopted as the blueprint for prioritizing transportation investments across the county.

The companion contract, SAP 056-030-008, funds the 2026 Seal Coat and Crack Seal program, a countywide maintenance effort targeting selected segments across the highway system. Seal coating and crack sealing add years to pavement life without the cost of full reconstruction, and the bid package includes sweeping maps identifying the specific corridors scheduled for treatment. Teich has described this category of work as minimally disruptive. "Generally speaking, there's only very short amounts of time that they would be detoured, if it is at all," she said.

The construction schedule for CSAH 24 is tight. The county is targeting a contract award around May 12, barely three weeks after bids close, then a construction start of July 6 and a completion target of October 9. Drivers in that Erhard corridor should expect temporary traffic control from early July through early fall. After the award vote at the commissioners' meeting, the county normally distributes detour maps and contractor contact information to affected townships.

Plans and specifications for both contracts are on file at the County Auditor's office and accessible through the bidVault portal. Mailed or hand-delivered bids will not be accepted for at least one of the contracts. With the April 23 deadline three weeks out, contractors have a narrow window to review documents and price the work before the county moves toward award.