County road commission receives award

The County Road Association of Michigan recently recognized the St. Joseph County Road Commission with an “IMPRESS” award.

Issued during the CRA’s 2020 Highway Conference, IMPRESS recognizes county road agencies that demonstrate innovation with special projects in communications, operations and collaboration.

The county was awarded in the “Operations” category for its combination tar distributor/plow truck usage. Budget constraints made it not feasible for the Centreville-based agency to purchase two tar distributors, which are used just three months of the year.

As a result, road commission employees researched and built two dual-purpose tar distributor/plow trucks that could then be used year-round.

An independent panel of communications and operations experts from several Michigan county road commissions judged the projects.