and maintenance projects to
interlocal agreements.
verse workload, Road and
Bridge is currently operating
foremen supervising their re-
tendent coordinating the sched-
ding, Construction, and As-
supported by the County Engi-
neer’s Office which handles the
administrative duties while co-
ordinating various work order
tasks. The engineering techni-
cians support services include:
management, land develop-
miscellaneous surveying.
This report is a brief snapshot
of projects completed, mainte-
nance summaries, 2013 Ac-
om used time and time again
for business professionals in
probably something not heard
site or maintenance project.
However, new leadership brings
brings new expectations.
the Road and Bridge is given a
leadership card. On this card
are 15 traits of a good leader.
It’s upon reading this card,
when you hear loud and clear a
new message with new expecta-
tions.
sage is simple. We represent
our leaders. We represent our
families. We represent Bell
to serve the traveling public
with minimal impact while
maintaining the highest quali-
ty of workmanship possible.
is always in our back pocket
to remind us of good leader-
ship traits to follow.
Special points of interest:
flectivity Inspections
Routine Maintenance 8
Employee Spotlight 10
2013 Accomplishments 16
Early in my life, I was told to find a job that I enjoyed and learn to do it well. As a board member of the Texas Association of
County Engineers and member of the National Association of County Engineers, I have had the pleasure to meet peers in my
field. We are like-minded people with knowledge of engineering sciences and serve the public as county employees. I can testi-
fy that we enjoy doing our jobs no matter where we are located.
I was a project engineer for K.C. Engineering in 2004. Once I was discussing details for an off-system bridge in Bastrop County
with a firm preparing the environmental report. Jeremy Walther and I had worked together on previous projects and he was an
expert as an environmental consultant. I explained the existing structure and proposed bridge design concepts so he could in-
corporate it into the body of the report. As we concluded our conversation, I said, “I am glad there are guys like you that enjoy
doing this kind of work.” Jeremy responded, “I am glad there are guys like you who enjoy engineering and can build the roads
and bridges for guys like me.”
Two young men from Holy Trinity High school in Temple visited our office on April 11, 2013. They were part of a mentoring pro-
gram and were seeking a future in engineering. Steve, Duane, and Gary spent the morning with the students giving them
“hands on” activities that are common engineering job duties. Surveying, cost estimating, plan review, GIS, and hydraulics were
some of the topics they learned about. I concluded the morning by encouraging the men to pick a profession that they enjoy. I
told them, “My employees and I enjoy doing what we do.” They both smiled and replied, “We could see that!”
As the end of 2013 approached, I challenged the staff this year to put some extra effort into this year’s report to the Commission-
ers Court. We continued to furnish information as we did in the past, but gave it a new look. We added some details about the
department to it this year. I hope you can see our enthusiasm for our professions in this report. As we look back at the accom-
plishments of 2013, it reaffirms to us that it is good to be in a job where you enjoy doing what you do.
Bryan Neaves, P.E.
Bell County Engineer
ENJOY YOUR OCCUPATION
Bryan Neaves, P.E
Bell County Engineer
In 2012/2013, Bell County began locating signage within the
road right-of-way with a hand held GPS device. The County presently has over 5,000 traffic signs
(speed limit, stop, warning, directional, street name, etc...) that are within its right-of-ways. The
data collected was entered into Cartegraph. This geodetic data enables us to locate each sign
electronically producing the Bell County Sign Inventory map.
In addition to the map, the reason behind the data collection was to create a sign inventory, man-
age the annual cost of road signage, maintenance and repairs, as well as the reflectivity of each
sign. Cartegraph helps the sign crew order, manage new sign orders, repairs, and or replacing
existing signs.
2013 Annual Report Page 3
FACT: DATA ENTERED INTO CARTEGRAPH TRACKS & MANAGES WORK PROGRESS FOR 21 TEAMS.
The County Engineer’s Office began using Cartegraph approx-
imately 10 years ago. Over the past three years, the Road and Bridge Department has increasingly moved toward
a paperless system. Cartegraph is a computer database that helps keep track of work orders, road signs, pave-
ment sections, employee labor and equipment, as well as process end of year reports.
In the past, these items were all tracked by handwritten work orders. Aaron Lykins (pictured right) trains person-
nel at the Road and Bridge Department to navigate the Cartegraph program and input data. This helps the Coun-
ty manage the work being done daily, as well as the costs, expenses and man hours expended each day. It may
be used to track progress of assignments and record the details of the interaction between owners and our per-
sonnel.
Cartegraph has another feature within its capabilities known as Pavement View. In
Pavement View, Cartegraph allows users to input data specifically related to pavement conditions. Primarily, once roadway inspections are
performed, users input existing roadway conditions including but not limited to types of cracking, types of surface material, ride quality
and drainage conditions. Settings for each roadway condition parameters are customized in Cartegraph to score each roadway condition
with a number based on the percentages of damages. Pavement View shows all parts of road information on one screen. The data placed
into pavement view can be viewed by any Cartegraph user and allows us to retrieve data on any roadway in the system in real time.
Picture 1: Work order screen capture. Picture 2: Pavement view screen capture.
The Work Plan consists of capital improvement projects that cost more than
$5,000. These are chosen based on the needs of roadway improvements and
demand by the traveling public. The County Engineer and Superintendent of Road
and Bridge then propose the plan to the Commissioner’s Court for approval. The
approved Work Plan may take up to three years to complete depending on priority,
work load, personnel availability and material sources.
The 2013 Work Plan consisted of 10 roadways and 1 new bridge totaling
$398,475.00 in materials cost.
The 2013 Seal Coat Program covered 85.62 miles totaling $1,618,053.70 in ma-
terials cost.
Pavement evaluations are extensive
tions before and after roadway improve-
ments. Each road will be scored based
on the criteria degree of pavement dis-
tress.
pavement distress and ride quality.
Cartegraph will automatically calculate
is simply a grade(0-100) that Carte-
graph calculates based off the data
entered by the inspector.
184 road segments. Cartegraph soft-
ware allows us to integrate our pave-
ment evaluations in real time showing
updated conditions when mapped.
and mapped by our GIS/Mapping capa-
bilities, efforts can then be concentrat-
ed towards the lower OCI indexed
roads. These roads will be looked at
first for the following year’s work plan
and seal coat programs.
rently maintaining a seven year
cycle for road life. Cartegraph helps
us stay on this cycle.
Map: Thermal map of road system showing varying OCI scoring.
FACT: ON AVERAGE, 10,000 TONS OF ROADWAY MATERIALS ARE HAULED PER MONTH.
“Cartegraph software allows us to integrate our
pavement evaluations in real time showing updat-
ed conditions when mapped.”- Duane Herrera,
Engineer Tech
Seal Coat (Mi.) 23.16 23.32 26.88 12.26 85.62
Rehab (Mi.) .38 1.48 9.13 0 10.99
Structures (Ea.) 1 0 0 0 1
The asphalt crew, lead by
Emilio Ramirez, seal
five main materials. Hot
coating any pavement
preparatory work/level-
to improve the existing
for a wearing surface.
evenly over a thin coat of
emulsion oil forming a
Etnyre Centennial distributor on
The 2000-gallon tank came
truck body and was used during
the past year on our seal coat
program. The truck has a 250-HP
diesel engine and an automatic
transmission. This truck replaced
was sold by online auction for
$42,087.
and is fully operational by one
person from the cab. The appli-
cation rate is automatically con-
trolled even with variations in the
truck’s speed. This model
came with a shut-off valve to
separate the tank from the
pump assembly during clean-
the 20-foot variable width spray
bar. This allows the driver to
narrow the spray bar width to
match existing pavement width
and eliminates the excessive
when working near traffic and
in subdivisions where obstacles
like mailboxes are encoun-
2011
2010
2009
“This new model allows us to get a more professional fin-
ish.”-Ramon Gomez, 30 yrs. Operating distributors.
“Heating flues in the new tank are more efficient. They can
heat prime oil twice as fast so we can shoot it earlier in the
day.”-Bobby Law, Safety/Pavement Specialist
Precinct 2012 Hot Mix
this process is complet-
ed, pending natural disas-
road can last approxi-
We are expecting the
double during 2014.
The Harber Road project is located in Precinct 1, south of Holland, Texas and is being constructed in phases. Phase 1 begins at the
intersection with Lindemann Road and runs north approximately 0.90 miles to the north side of Darr’s Creek.
Engineering technicians conducted a survey of the existing right-of-way and produced a strip map detailing the location of
existing property lines, fences, driveways, drainage areas, as well as above and below ground utilities. It was determined that sixty feet
of right-of-way was needed to widen the existing road and construct a new bridge over Darr’s Creek. Four parcels of land totaling 5.04
acres was purchased, 500 linear feet of waterline, and a power pole were relocated.
Right-of-way acquisition was completed in December of 2012. Chris Klepac, bulldozer operator for the Road and Bridge De-
partment, began clearing the trees and brush from the new right-of-way, while engineering technicians Stephen Eubanks and Duane
Herrera began producing plan and profile sheets for a bridge that would meet TXDOT standards. A twenty-four foot wide clear roadway
bridge with one foot wide headwalls was designed. Due to the width of Darr’s Creek and the angle at which the creek intersected the
road, it was determined that a forty-five degree, right forward skew bridge, with three-thirty-foot spans was needed.
The drainage basin upstream from the bridge location was calculated by Duane Herrera and found to be approximately 6,864
acres or 10.72 square miles. Due to the potential impacts to the 100-year floodplain, it was determined we would need to raise the
new bridge at least one foot higher than the existing structure.
Bridge foreman Albert Delgado, had his crewmen begin the demolition of the existing structure in March of 2013. Once the
old one-lane bridge had been removed, and the area prepared, Stephen Eubanks, Duane Herrera, and Gary Stermer staked out the
bridge abutments and support column locations. Albert Delgado commented that “a forty-five degree, right forward skew bridge was a
challenge because his crew had not built one in more than twenty-five years, and new, longer concrete forms would have to be built”.
The cost of the materials for the bridge was approximately $57,460.00 and took Albert’s crew almost eight months to complete. Once
completed, road construction foreman Royce Rucker assigned a construction crew to widen and upgrade the existing road, as well as
align it with the new bridge.
2013 Annual Report Page 6
1
Reeds Lake Gravel Rd Stabilization 1.70 $17,234
Barnhardt Full Depth Restoration 0.19 $4,949
Rogers Cemetery Full Depth Restoration 0.53 $36,631
McClean Cemetery Full Depth Restoration 1.50 $64,683
Old 81 Full Depth Restoration 0.28 $2,513
Shiloh Full Depth Restoration 0.47 $19,092 2
3
4
East Travis Full Depth Restoration 0.28 $11,244
In our effort to reduce grading costs and eliminate dust on gravel roads, a gravel stabilization project was undertaken on Reeds Lake Road
in Precinct 3. The 1.7 mile section from Pritchard Road to Reeds Lake Loop was stabilized using Texas Road Glue. 4,055 gallons of the
product was incorporated into the top four inches of the gravel from September 20- October 16, 2013. The total cost of the material used
on the work site was $17, 233.75
The construction sequence consisted of pulverizing the top layer of gravel, applying the diluted product using with a water truck, and finally
blading and compacting the material. Bill Hudgens, leadman on the construction crew commented, “It is going down good. I didn’t have
much (gravel) to work with. We will see how it lasts over time”. The product reduced the amount of dust as advertised. Ted Fiebig inspect-
ed the project after a 6-inch rainfall event on October 30, 2013 and stated, “It held up well. The road wasn’t hurt too badly.”
2013 Annual Report
Page 7
Maintaining the County’s roads and bridges is one of the department’s core responsibilities. These
duties fall on the remaining 65-plus employees executing various tasks including crack seal, edge
patching, right-of-way clearing, brush cutting, shredding, sign maintenance, striping and bridge
repairs. The following is an annual snapshot of various crews working in their respective disci-
plines. In total, maintenance logged over 43,000 labor hours, maintained 653.88 miles of paved
roads and 228.33 miles of gravel roads in 2013.
Work orders are an essential part of the
Road and Bridge Department’s daily
functions. Work orders are assembled in
various ways but all communicate work
being requested from various sources.
All work orders are processed and en-
tered electronically into Cartegraph. Once
these orders are placed, all Cartegraph
licensed personal will have access to
them. Supervisors will address numerous
work orders daily and input the current
status of each work order as they are
completed. At any time, a work order
may be checked and reviewed by any
personnel to help answer questions, plan
for future work, monitor equipment being
used and labor hours on any specific
tasks.
into Cartegraph and executed by Road
and Bridge personnel specifically for
Routine Maintenance. The full list of
Routine Maintenance consist of the fol-
lowing; Widening and Edge Patching,
Right-of-Way and Fence-line clearing,
Three categories of work that are not part
of Routine Maintenance but are tracked,
monitored and entered by Work Orders
also are Interlocal Agreements, the Coun-
ty’s Work Plan and Seal Coat program.
These projects are special in nature due
to pending approval by the Commission-
er’s Court.
overall work load distribution and tasks
being performed county wide.
FACT: WORK ORDERS HAVE STREAMLINED WORK REQUESTS FOR
IMPROVED PUBLIC SERVICES AND FASTER RESPONSE TIME.
Precinct Work Orders
Picture: Screen capture of Work Order in Cartegraph.
Widening and edge patching is part of routine maintenance for its preparatory nature. Patching can be performed throughout the year and
is usually done specifically on roads that are not included to be leveled-up or part of the seal coat program. The roads selected for this
type of maintenance are usually addressed as a temporary preparatory short term fix until the road will be placed on the seal coat pro-
gram. Equipment used to execute this job is a dura-patcher, maintainer, and periodically small flat wheel rollers. The asphalt crews spe-
cialize in multiple disciplines dealing with both hot mix and cold placed materials. The following break down shows both linear feet and
miles covered by each Precinct in 2013.
Maintaining the County right-of-
With careful strategic planning,
ing public.
roadway specialists and engi-
how far the driver can see down
the road. There can be safety
hazards along the roadside
long curve sections. Improving
sight distance allows drivers
slowing or avoiding an ap-
proaching hazard.
ed for specific roadway im-
2013 Annual Report Page 9
Picture: Sight distance was improved on Bottoms East Rd.(Pct.3)
provement projects.
nate the activity with utility compa-
nies and landowners. Drainage
eration for long-term impacts along
both sides of the road. This is just
as important to help maintain the
life of the roadway and overall con-
dition of ride quality.
machinery to clear right-of-ways and
fence-lines. Dozer work and mowing
crews are supervised by Tony
Mendenhall.
Unit Precinct 1 Precinct 2 Precinct 3 Precinct 4
Linear Feet 9,900 14,700 16,500 24,700
Miles 1.88 2.78 3.13 4.68
Picture 1: Newly purchased Dura-Patch Machine Picture 2: Blade widening shoulders.
In 2013, clearing took place at S.Pea Ridge, , Harber, Black-
berry, Old Landfill, Bottoms East, Stringtown, Wolfridge, the
Animal Shelter and Bell County Expo Center. Over 7,500 labor
hours were spent clearing county right-of-way.
While water is one of life’s most precious commodities, it’s also the most critical compo-
nent to take into consideration when maintaining roads in rural areas where farm use is
prominent. Ensuring positive drainage throughout the system is a top priority. Pipe crews
can improve drainage conditions through careful design and planning. This is possible by
redirecting water flow, changing velocities and increasing or decreasing water elevation
levels.
Lee Love supervises the pipe crew which works year round maintaining positive drainage
flow throughout the county. Working endless lengths of ditches and channels, this crew
will install new pipes, repair existing pipes and clear ditches and channels. Our pipe crew
primarily uses corrugated metal pipes that can easily be repaired quickly.
In 2013, pipe crews worked 5,444 labor hours while using $51,506.86 in materials cost
for improvements. The table below displays this year’s top five projects in materials cost.
2013 Annual Report Page 10
Jarrod Jimenez started working for Bell County’s Road and Bridge Department in
2002. On the brush crew before advancing to pipe crew. Over the next three years, he was then promoted to pipe
crew leadman. Jarrod’s excellent work ethic coupled with a great personality made him the ideal candidate for the
Hauling and Pits foreman position in 2013.
Each work day starts with the day’s opening truck plan. This plan consists of coordinating 17 CDL drivers and
three operators. Projects are prioritized by work orders; seal coat jobs and road construction projects. Jarrod is
responsible for fourteen tandem haul trucks, two diesel trucks pulling 18 trailers and one diesel truck pulling a
trailer loaded with heavy equipment. After giving the drivers their respective assignments, Jarrod logs labor hours and equipment hours
into Cartegraph. Jarrod also visits the materials source providers at the David and Richie Pits. Stockpiles are logged and checked daily.
Jarrod’s day ends back in the yard where the remaining excess materials are stockpiled and tickets are counted.
Jarrod believes communication is essential when managing large operations where logistics and safety are priorities. When asked about
bettering himself, he said “I want to know my drivers on a personal level to help build morale. Communication is very important.”
While Jarrod is getting comfortable in his new position, he knows communication improvement starts with family. Away from work, Jarrod
enjoy spending time with his four children. The family enjoys camping and other outdoor activities but Jarrod’s main hobby is collecting
arrowheads. He is an aspiring flint knapper.
Project Pct. Labor Hrs. Materials Cost Scope of Work
Lutheran Church Rd. 1 68 $ 3,042.12 Pipe Install
Wallace Rd. 1 16 $ 2,964.00 Pipe Install
Oscar School Rd. 3 76 $ 2,949.50 Pipe Install
Sullivan Rd. 1 14 $ 2,080.00 Pipe Repair
Cathey Creek Rd. 1 32 $ 2,047.00 Pipe Install
460
Pct 1
Pct 2
Pct 3
Pct 4
The brush crew logged 2,167.50 total labor hours clearing brush along county right-
of-ways. This helps eliminate overgrown areas and low hanging tree lines. The chart
below displays labor hours by each precinct.
Mowing the county’s right-of-way gives the traveling public a highly visible shoulder
area and reduces hazards along long curve stretches. Mowing occurs seasonally with
peak performances during the growing season. The table shows the mowing labor
hours per precinct. Mowing crews mowed a total of 7,548 Labor Hours in 2013.
2013 Annual Report Page 11
Pictured: A Gradall removes trimmings from roadside.
A two-man sign crew maintains
all county signs year round.
Cartegraph tracks the extensive
requested and completed for
eation, sign removal, graffiti
removal and sign maintenance.
mary table shows the total cost
for materials needed to main-
tain Bell County signs.
Albert Delgado has been employed at Road and Bridge for 30 years. Albert’s
bridge crew performs a variety of specialized concrete work from full span bridges
to the installation of new headwalls on “bridge class” culverts. The veteran super-
visor watches with keen precision the execution of various work request through-
out the county. Improvement to existing structures are needed throughout the
year to help maintain all sizes of culverts with both concrete and corrugated met-
al pipes. In 2013, the Bridge crew logged 2,839.50 labor hours while installing
$15,528.94 of concrete material and new pipes.
The chart below shows all striping contracted to D.I.J Construction (headquartered
in Bertram, Texas). Railroad crossings and rumble strips were place on Harber,
Five Wells, Pritchard, Wheat, Sparta and Chaparral roads. Thermoplastic pave-
ment markings were applied according to TxDOT specifications.
2013 Annual Report Page 12
FACT: ALL COUNTY MAINTAINED ROADS HAVE GREEN STREET SIGNS.
Precinct Roadways Striping Cost Miles
1 3 $23,691.54 26.49
2 3 $24,770.36 28.24
3 9 $30,169.66 32.66
4 1 $4,525.26 5.16
Total 16 $ 83,156.82 92.55
Striping Summary-Pct.1-Harber Rd,Paddy Hamil-
ton,Sparta. Pct.2-Chapparrel,Rose Lane,Williams. Pct.3-
vertical headwalls are constructed.
1 Romberg $3,613.04 Headwalls
2 Blackberry $1,296.42 Headwalls
Cracksealing is used for hairline and medium sized cracking in the
roadway. Two Cimline applicators are used to perform this task.
Longitudinal cracking can be found running parallel to the road mainly
along the shoulder areas and at times 5-6 feet towards the centerline.
Small aggregate is used occasionally for cracks larger than a few inch-
es to help solidify and bind the emulsion oil within the crack.
Cracksealing can be performed year round, but not recommended
during extremely cold periods in winter. The warmer months helps the
polymer material stay hot while placement which allows the rubber to
cool slowly as it binds to the road surface. The stronger the bond, the
better the crack is sealed.
The table (right) shows the Cracksealing totals for 2013.
In 2013 we used 83,419 lbs. of PF3 sealant material. The materials
cost totaled $79,529.63 with 5,270.50 labor hours.
2013 Annual Report Page 13
Road and Bridge recycles numerous items throughout the year. In 2013, recy-
cling included 2,947 gallons of used oil and 4,800 lbs. of filters. Scrap metals
and scrap tires picked up from around the county are also recycled. In addition,
the Bell County Commissioner’s sponsored a tire recycle event which opened to
the entire county to drop off scrap tires. The table below shows the yearly total
for Metals and Tires including trailer rental cost for one Tire Recycle Event.
Materials Qty. Cost
1 $ 19,093.26 816.00
2 $ 1,584.84 138.00
3 $ 56,983.76 4220.50
4 $ 1,867.77 96.00
Total $ 79,529.63 5,270.50
In total, 191 work orders were completed while logging 702
hours of labor.
Trash and debris vary from recyclable items, large furniture, per-
sonal trash and dead animals. The table shows a snapshot of the
overall work orders for trash removal by precinct.
Precinct Work Orders Labor Hrs.
1 55 160
2 55 225
3 61 227
4 20 90
Total 191 702
Panda Pipeline Project
The installation of a 30-inch subsurface gas pipe line was placed in Eastern Bell County. The pipeline
connected the new Panda Power Station located on East Loop 363 in Temple, Texas to a supply sta-
tion. The pipeline ran eastward approximately fourteen miles to a regional gas distribution station
located on Rosebud Road in Bell County. The construction began in April 2013, and was completed in
approximately six weeks.
The pipeline route was coincident with 10 County roadways, as well as, a handful of state roadways.
After a strict review process of the proposed construction plans, permits for each of the 10 crossings
were issued to the applicant. Once construction began, an inspection of each County road crossing
was made to insure the integrity of the County road and right-of-Way was preserved, and placement of
pipeline testing stations at each crossing was correct.
REHABILITATION OF CHURCH STREET, Precinct 3
Surface Patching Front and Cypress Street, Troy, Texas
2013 Annual Report Page 14
Materials cost for the 1,500 foot long project was $10,477.63. The City reimbursed the
County for the expense. The County provided the labor, equipment and materials to
pulverize the top six inches of asphalt and base (RAP); delivered and incorporated an
additional five inches of new flexible base, compacted, and placed a two course chip
seal.
Cypress and Front Street were overlaid using asphaltic concrete pavement to improve
surface quality. Total cost for materials was $21,887.24 The City reimbursed the
County for the expense of materials. Work was completed on July 26, 2013.
REHABILITATION OF HUNT HILL, Precinct 3
Pulverize and Replace with Flex Base, Rogers, Texas
Material cost for the 2,700 foot long project was $22,096.93 The City reimbursed the
County for the expense. The County provided labor, equipment and materials to pulver-
ize the top six inches of asphalt and base (RAP), delivered and incorporated an addition-
al six inches of new flexible base, compacted and prime finished the base, and placed a
1- 1/2" hot mix surface. Work was completed on July 26, 2013.
Bell County’s basic land development process consists of a developer’s engineer/ surveyor presenting a subdivision plat
and construction plans (if necessary) to the County Engineer’s Office for review. After the review process, the plat and plans
are returned to the developer’s engineer/ surveyor for corrections to be made. Once the corrections are made, the subdivi-
sion plat/ plans are presented to the Bell County Commissioners Court for the Court’s approval.
At this point, the developer is able to have the plat and other documents recorded at the Bell County Clerk’s Office, in order
to begin construction and/ or sale of the property. In 2013, the Bell County Engineer’s Office reviewed a total of thirty five
(35) subdivision plats/ construction plans. Twenty six (26) of those plats have completed the process, and been presented
to, and passed by the Commissioners Court.
The number of subdivisions per precinct are summarized below:
Precinct #1) Eleven (11) subdivisions total Precinct #2) Eight (8) subdivisions total
Precinct #3) Four (4) subdivisions total Precinct #4) Three (3) subdivisions total
Of the twenty six (26) subdivisions passed by the Court, (most considered either rural acreage or commercial tracts) a total
of four (4) were “residential type” subdivisions, with new roadways under construction.
Precinct #1 - High Crest Phase II – 36.3 acres, 57 lots, 0.85 miles of new roadways.
Precinct #1 - The Ranch at Woodland Trails Phase I – 11.99 acres, 20 lots, 0.22 miles of roadway.
Precinct #2 - Mill Creek Springs Phase VII – 12.42 acres, 19 lots, 0.26 miles of new roadways.
Precinct #4 - Walnut Creek Estates Phase IX – 64.8 acres, 20 lots, 0.55 miles of new roadways.
A total of six (6) additional “residential type” subdivisions containing “proposed” new roadways were submitted in 2013,
and are still involved in the review process.
2013 Annual Report Page 15
This honor is awarded to those who have truly distinguished themselves in the area of safety and
Bobby Law has. He takes a proactive role to prevent needless accidents and injuries and he
serves as a positive role model to encourage safe work practices. Bell County's operations are
safer because of Bobby Law.
Gold Star Award Recipient- Bell County has earned a 2012 Gold Star Safety Award from the Texas
Association of Counties (TAC) for its record of excellence in involvement and commitment to safe-
ty in the workplace, as well as for controlling workers' compensation claims.
Only nine Texas counties received the 2012 Gold Star Award, which is reserved for counties with
the highest degree of safety commitment and success. TAC presented the awards Oct.28 during a
ceremony at its 2013 Pool Symposium in San Marcos.
Bell County is one of approximately 300 governmental entities that collectively self-insure their
workers' compensation through the TAC Risk Management Pool. The Association awards the pres-
tigious Gold Star Award to only those Pool members that have demonstrated actions and imple-
mented procedures recognized as proactive in total risk management.
Bell County has a strong safety culture. For many years, it has had one of the lowest experience
modifiers in the TAC Risk Management Pool. Bell County's accident investigation program uncov-
ers root causes to prevent accident reoccurrence. The phrase that best describes this county is
"Best in Class".
1 Year Award Winners
2 Year Award Winners
3 Year Award Winners
4 Year Award Winners
5 Year Award Winners
6 Year Award Winners
nizes employees with consecutive years of
No-Accidents or non-chargeable incidents.
employees who earned them. The following
chart shows a blue helmet for every five em-
ployees receiving that year’s award.
For 2013, awards will be given to 78 out of
90 Road and Bridge employees for their safe-
ty record. The employees will receive their
recognition in late January, 2014.
12 - Employees
18 - Employees
8 - Employees
1 - Employee
8 - Employees
4 - Employees
26 - Employees
,Commissioner Tim Brown, Bobby Law, Judge
Jon Burrows
Coffey with Bobby Law
Prepared deeds and obtain ROW along Harber Road.
Designed plan and profile sheet layouts for Harber Road three span pan-girder bridge.
Coordinated permits and inspect construction of the Panda Pipeline project thru East Bell County.
Field Survey and prepared as-built drawings for Engineers Office Expansion Project.
Field Survey and prepared contour map of Bell County Expo/Equestrian Project.
Field Survey and prepared plan and profile sheet layouts for drainage study at Bell County Expo RV Station.
Reviewed multiple subdivision plats/construction plans in all precincts.
2013 ENGINEERS OFFICE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2013 Annual Report Page 17
Tanja Poboril and Aaron Lykins took over after Penny Ward retired. She trained them well. “They stood in the gap and successfully
handled office administrative duties for our team. They show loyalty and commitment.”
Engineering Technicians continued to learn skills and become more confident in their roles. I taught them engineering skills about
hydraulic calculations, culvert sizing, floodplains, drawing plan and profile sheets, bridge layouts, cost estimating, and other com-
puter aided programs. ROW maps, presentations, reporting, and other GIS drawings were improved on their own efforts. “They are
intelligent people and take pride in their work. I try to give them flexibility to do their jobs, use their creativity, help when they are
weak, and build their confidence and trust.”
Office Administrative and Technician personnel are cross training and working better as a team.
Cartegraph input by Road and Bridge personnel was implemented and went smoothly. They are inputting more data than we have
done in the past. This will improve our database and service.
Management training for Road and Bridge foremen and Engineering Technicians started. Skills of communication, leading by ex-
ample, conducting job interviews and other basic skills were taught. Some benefits for the leaders were seen. I look forward to
developing better leaders to enhance productivity, morale, and create a desirable workplace for our crews.
Served on TACERA Board of Directors
Attended NACE conference in Iowa as Texas Delegate.
STEVE EUBANKS, Land Development
BRYAN NEAVES, County Engineer
GARY STERMER, GIS & Mapping
Completed Sign Inventory, GPS with Cartegraph integration.
Designed and prepared proposed school zone sign map for Salado ISD.
Managed and coordinated software updates for Cartegraph.
Maintained inventory of county maps.
DUANE HERRERA, Floodplain & Stormwater
Coordinated and managed budget for 2013 and 2014 Seal Coat programs.
Stormwater Management Program completed and turned into TCEQ early.
TANJA POBORIL & AARON LYKINS, Administrative Assistants
Manage payroll, employee time and personnel files for office, road and bridge department.
Manage and train 16 employees on Cartegraph
Handle all public inquiries in professional and timely fashion.
Manage and track all work orders for road and bridge department
Assist County Engineer
In 2013, floods hit Bell County with extensive damages to key roads . While some roads where damaged mildly, there were some
which needed to be closed. Round Hall, Lindemann, Sullivan, Wedel Cemetery, Sypert Ranch, Lutheran Church, Big Elm Creek, Coun-
ty Line and Harber Road were washed out or unpassable due to flooding. All Road and Bridge crews immediately responded as a
positive, cooperative department to repair and open all nine roads within forty-eight hours.
2013 ROAD AND BRIDGE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2013 Annual Report Page 18
Ted Fiebig– Superintendent of Road and Bridge Department
Emilio Ramirez– Asphalt
When asked for examples of memorable performances from the asphalt crews, Emilio didn’t hesitate to mention the asphalt im-
provements done on Chaparral this year. The challenge was to reduce the number accidents by improving roadway conditions, espe-
cially around the two horizontal curve sections. The first step was to improve the straight section from Featherline to East Trimmier.
Traffic control in these sections were challenging due to the high volume of traffic. Asphalt crews placed CRS-2 asphalt and covered
it with Type L Grade 4 (lightweight aggregate). The lightweight aggregate was chosen because of its high skid resistant qualities. This
material is also approved and used by TxDOT on high volume highways. During construction, numerous citizens stopped to compli-
ment crew. One citizen said, “Now I know where my tax money goes, I feel like we’re getting our money’s worth.” Another citizen men-
tioned, “Finally got the curves smoother and safe.” Emilio complimented his crew by letting them know that, “the traffic control dur-
ing construction was excellent.” Overall, it was a challenging project, but they got it done.
Lee Love– Maintenance
Saving time and cost is a top priority for everyone. Therefore, maintenance crews are constantly trying to improve the efficiency while
maintaining a high level of quality. Tommy Carroll and Louis Campos ground brush by using the brush cutter and skid steer to clear
right-of-way. This efficient use of labor and equipment saved time and expenses compared to methods used in the past. Another
crew built a new shed for supplies and equipment in order to save time and cost of having to contract this work out. On Bottoms
Road, rock was placed under an existing bridge to prevent undermining the concrete riprap.
Royce Rucker– Construction
The construction crew assisted asphalt crew with the Chaparral Rd. project by widening the road in the curve sections. In the curve
sections, three feet was added to high side using concrete stabilized base. Fill was placed to improve safety on the back slope. The
slopes were seeded with rye and bermuda grass. One driver stopped and said, “I was proud of the county for doing the job right.”
Another project the construction crew assisted with was tying in the new road on both sides of Harber Road Bridge project. A new
alignment was designed with fill and cuts needed on both approaches with limited right-of-way. This project turned out to be a high-
light showcasing blade finishing work and improving drainage slopes on both sides.
ALBERT DELGADO
30 YEARS
www.bellcountytx.com
B e l l C o u n t y i s c e n t r a l l y l o c a t e d a l o n g t h e
I-35 corridor. Bell County is serviced by two major railroads and offers
state-of-the art medical facilities, several excellent colleges, and a large re-
gional airport, all of which make it a great choice to call home. Bell County
is home to Fort Hood. With a capacity of 50,000 troops, it is one of the
largest military installations in the free world. The 2010 Census put Bell
County's population at 310,325 - the 16th largest of Texas' 254 counties.
Bell County grew by 30.4% from 2000 to 2010. The 2012 population is
estimated to be over 315,000, and it continues to grow, fueling a strong and
stable economy.
Bell County Engineers Office Bell County Road & Bridge Department
Disclosure - All logos used in the report are all copyrighted and protected by their respective companies. Their usage were solely based on enhancing the
appearance and presentation of this report. Logos, pictures and trademarks are taken from their respective company’s website and are not marketable