Ruts worn into the pavement of two Douglas County roads will get filled this summer, topping a list of rural repaving projects intended to improve driver safety and boost road durability.

A five-mile stretch of County Road 1061, north of U.S. Highway 56 in southeast Douglas County, will get an estimated $114,000 makeover. County officials are seeking bids for the microsurfacing project, which will cover the road with pavement thick enough to fill ruts but thin enough to save money.

A two mile stretch of County Road 460, west of U.S. Highway 59, is one of several roads the county will begin work on this summer.

Covering the road with a traditional, thicker overlay of pavement would cost about three times as much.

“We’ve only got a certain amount of money to work with, so we have to fit everything in,” said Keith Browning, the county’s director of Public Works. “It’s a big savings, and we’ll get much better drainage. It reduces the possibility of hydroplaning.”

The road, which carries about 1,500 vehicles per day, is a popular connection between U.S. 56 and Kansas Highway 10 to the north. Work is scheduled for July.

Also on the county’s repaving list is a 2-mile stretch of County Road 460, west of U.S. Highway 59. The road needs a full, 2-inch-thick coat of pavement because the road has more structural damage than 1061, Browning said.

The project, scheduled for early September, is expected to cost $128,300. The road carries about 900 vehicles per day.

The county also intends to experiment with a “scrub seal” process on a mile of County Road 5, south of U.S. 56. County crews will sweep a special blend of asphalt into cracks, then top it with sand to seal the surface.

Browning said the process had worked in a handful of other areas in Kansas, and could provide a relatively low-cost alternative to other road-maintenance projects.