BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

STOCKHOLM -- With summer weather upon the North Country highway departments are in full swing, paving miles of highways hit hard by harsh winter weather.

In the town of Stockholm, Highway Superintendent Ethan Cheney said his crews will be paving 4.2 miles this year, which will be paid for with $441,000 of CHIPS funding from the state.

But while most highway departments use hot paving, with asphalt trucked in from local producers, Cheney said his crew will "cold pave" the highways. That process will allow the town to pave more roads with the funds allocated.

"Instead of trucking the asphalt in, we'll be able to set up shop in our own parking lot. It's going to save us thousands, which means we can pave more highways," he said.  

Cheney said those savings will play a key role in the future as well, with repaves being unnecessary for the foreseeable future.

"What we'll be doing in the next five or six years is essentially resealing the roads, sort of like you would with a paved driveway. So, once we could pave the roads they will hold up better in the long run. They'll also be able to handle the winter weather much better, especially when we have heaving," he said.

With such a small crew compared to other municipalities, Cheney said communication and intermunicipal agreements make or break projects like paving.

"This crew is our biggest asset. Without them we wouldn't be able to do this, they're the best. Working with our neighboring communities is also a huge help for us. Our highway departments all look at this as a big family. We wouldn't be able to pull off these projects if we had to contract out the work," Cheney said.

Cheney said he has also taken steps to offset equipment expenses by auctioning off surplus equipment no longer used by the department.

"In our last auction with Auctions International we netted over $90,000 that was rolled right back into the equipment fund. We're always looking for ways to save money and offset our planned expenses for equipment," he said.

As for winter, Cheney said he's also taken measures to save taxpayers money. Plowing from Christmas through February 2025 was extensive, with overtime costs adding up fast.

"Our guys only had five days off during that stretch. They were constantly plowing and salting," he said.

But with a different mix of salt, Cheney said he was able to cut down on the amount of plowing required.

"We went up 2.5%, so our guys were on the road less. Our hope was also to make the roads safer and easier to clear faster with more salt being put down. Just in overtime expenses alone we saved 23%, let alone less wear and tear on the trucks," Cheney said.

The town currently employs seven members in the highway department, five full-time workers and two-part time.

"We also have 113 miles of highway to pave. That means we have 226 lane miles to plow, so we're always busy," Cheney said.

He commented that winter expenses are always hard to calculate because of the unpredictable nature of  snow storms.

"If it snows, we have to plow. If it doesn't, we have other things we can do. There's no way around that and unfortunately we were kept very busy this past winter. But we were still able to save money," Cheney said.

For the highway department, giving back to the community is also a major priority.

Most recently, four loads of stone were donated to the St. Lawrence County multi-use trail system for maintenance. Cheney also commented that future projects are in the works, with the highway department slated to play a role in the near future.

"We have a lot going on, a number of projects we're working on to give back to the community. That's the biggest thing for me, it's not just about doing the job but helping the community as well," Cheney said.

Seniors from St. Lawrence Central School will also paint a highway department plow as part of a planned project. Cheney said the plow will help passersby identify the highway department garage easier.

"It's partially for signage but also because it's a fun, unique project for the students as well," he said.

A resident of Stockholm himself, Cheney said he hopes to use the savings and efficient methods to offer more to taxpayers in the future.

"We want to deliver the best bang for the buck. That's why we're always working to save money and do more with what we have. But we really couldn't do that without previous superintendents' planning and diligence. That's why our fleet is in such great shape and why we have such a great crew," Cheney said.