Madison County in talks for $327K flooring project at main landfill station

MARSHALL - Madison County's main landfill station is in need of a big floor upgrade, as the county heard updates on proposed major renovations to the flooring.

Solid Waste Director Sam Lunsford appeared before the Madison County Board of Commissioners to discuss the project Aug. 13, adding that the project will cost roughly $327,000.

According to Lunsford, the bid from Osborn Contract Services is for $314,000, plus an additional $13,000 for new asphalt out front of the station to be paid to French Broad Paving.

Lunsford said the transfer station's concrete slab floor at the main landfill, located along Rudisill Road in Marshall, would need to be repaired.

"What's needing to be done to the repair for the floor is not something that's not all of a sudden came up," Lunsford said, adding that the county noticed the floor's wear and tear began appearing roughly in 2011.

"The county got a bid 13 years ago to repair the floor," Lunsford said. "So, this is something that the landfill has had on its radar, that's going to have to be done at some point."

According to Lunsford, roughly a year ago, the right-hand side of the landfill station typically sees more wear and tear because it is where the push wall operates.

"That wear is getting down to where the original concrete was poured, and the rebar," Lunsford said. "When we noticed that, I started some dialogue with McGill."

Lunsford and the county solid waste team worked with McGill Associates, and received a quoted estimate from Osborn Contract Services, a company specializing in installing epoxy flooring at transfer stations.

According to Lunsford, timing is one of the main considerations made by the solid waste team.

"The trash is going to continue to come in," the solid waste director said.

"So, there are companies that offer to come in on Friday, and you're right back to work on Monday."

The epoxy process is an updated technology from the previous construction of solely concrete, and Lunsford said he estimates the renovations will last 25 to 30 years.

The transfer station was built in 2000 and has utilized the concrete flooring throughout that time.

But Lunsford said he anticipates the epoxy flooring having an even longer-lasting shelf life than the 25 to 30 years, given the lesser tonnage that Madison County has to deal with compared to other counties in the state.

Scope of the work

The process will start with a floor cleaning, followed by a machine that will chop up the surface flooring.

From there, a bonding agent is poured onto the old concrete to bond that to the new epoxy system, Lunsford said.

"Once that is done, they put another curing agent on top of that to make it cure a lot quicker, so it's able to be back to work on Monday," Lunsford said.

The asphalt roadway portion of the project will be performed throughout two phases.

Funding

According to Lunsford, the solid waste department initially funded $180,000 for the project in last year's budget.

Lunsford said the department also has additional funding in capital outlay accounts that will cover the project entirely.

"I already knew it was coming, so I worked with Finance Director Kary Ledford two years ago," Lunsford said.

Vice Chair Michael Garrison said the weekend project with Osborn makes the most sense.

"Shutting down for five days would be catastrophic," Garrison said.

Johnny Casey has covered Madison County for The Citizen Times and The News-Record & Sentinel for three years. He earned a first-place award in beat news reporting in the 2023 North Carolina Press Association awards. He can be reached at 828-210-6074 or jcasey@citizentimes.com.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Madison County in talks for $327K flooring project at main landfill station