Construction on garages at Pelican Rapids, Battle Lake expected to be finished by mid-November

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Construction of new county garages at Pelican Rapids and Battle Lake is on schedule, said County Engineers Charles Grotte to members of the county board of commissioners on Aug. 9.

“All work is proceeding well and we should complete both projects by mid-November,” Grotte said.

Otter Tail County is divided into five maintenance areas which contain a total of 10 garages in various sections of the county. Included are about 30 county employees who provide routine maintenance services to the highways and bridges throughout Otter Tail County.

Otter Tail County is larger in size than the state of Rhode Island and paved roads total 1,062 miles. This keeps the county highway department very busy.

On Aug. 9 the five-person county board approved the purchase of a magnesium chloride tank for the new garage in Pelican Rapids. Magnesium chloride is needed for treatment of road salt.

Grotte said an additional $5,580 was needed for installation of the magnesium chloride tank, through Otter Tail County bond funding.

Work is being performed by VariTech Industries.

VariTech, based in Alexandria, has expertise in anti-icing/de-icing application systems designed to slide into medium- and heavy-duty dump trucks. Tank capacities range from 925 gallons to 3,400 gallons. 

Each tank comes standard with a galvanized steel frame and fittings for many years of dependable use.

Grotte, during his presentation to county commissioners, also said that roadway maintenance projects are underway near Perham (Highway 8), New York Mills (Highway 58) and Henning (Highway 67).