Rising equipment prices for the secondary roads department were discussed at the Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday.

County Engineer Jacob Thorius presented the board with two bids they received for the county to purchase two tandem dump trucks. Thorius recommended the board approve the lower bid of $538,972 from H & L Mack of Mediapolis, and for contrast Thorius mentioned that in 2020 a purchase of one truck cost them $195,000, “Prices have gone up significantly on everything and I would say there’s about $30,000 attributed to the underbody scraper is a way they get a truck that’s set up a little bit higher. But supply chain issue, supply and demand, and supply is low so cost is higher and we need trucks to continue to do our operations.”

Thorius explained that they are adding an underbody scraper onto these trucks to help with snow removal after hearing from colleagues across the state who use such equipment. He anticipates that they will receive these trucks in 2023, and he mentioned that recent grants the secondary roads department has received totalling $137,000 will help cover some of the expense.