Ronnie Bartness knows the roads around Hartland. He knows where the culverts are, where the signs are and even where rocks are in the gravel roads.

For more than 18 years, Bartness has been in charge of road maintenance in the Hartland Township.

“You get to see the whole township as you’re driving. You’re driving through, you can look at the crops and see what’s happening in the neighborhood,” Bartness said.

Road maintenance is a part-time job for Bartness. He also farms 1,100 acres of corn and soybeans.

Maintaining the roads is a role that blends well with a farmer’s schedule. Bartness will typically grade the roads after it rains, and he said the fields are too wet for farm work after rain. Bartness said he typically goes out after half an inch of rain, though he has gone out for less.

One main thing he needs to grade out is washboards, or the ripples in the road from car tires that form by stop signs and mailboxes as vehicles stop and accelerate.

Bartness covers about 32 miles of roads around Hartland, which can take longer than 13 hours to grade. It typically takes two days, he said.

When he grades, Bartness pulls loose gravel from the shoulder back into the center of the road.

“I’m really only cutting half the road,” Bartness said. “You go on one side of it, and you pull it in. And then when you come back on the other side all you’re doing is feathering out the gravel,” Bartness said.

Bartness typically tries to grade the roads about two times a month, but that varies on how wet or dry the weather is, he said.

“Usually the people in the township like to have you out as much as possible, because it makes the road nice and smooth,” Bartness said.

Bartness said it’s important to maintain the roads, because the amount of heavy traffic takes a toll on the roads.

“These township roads now are taking a lot of heavy traffic and a lot of traffic period. So, they definitely need to be maintained,” Bartness said. “ A lot of them have an original horse and buggy roadbed. They’re not designed to take the weight they’re demanding of them right now.”

The potential construction of Bent Tree Wind Farm will increase the amount of heavy traffic on the roads.

The construction crews prefer the gravel roads to be flat, Bartness said. Hartland residents typically prefer the roads to be crowned with a peak at the center, he said. Water can flow off roads with a crown. Bartness said he will not grade the roads to be flat, but he’ll meet in the middle.

Bartness said he’ll likely have to grade the roads more frequently once construction begins, even during dry spells.

Bartness also plows the Hartland roads during the winter. It takes him seven to eight hours to clear the roads after it snows, and he said that’s difficult because people usually want the roads cleared quickly so they can safely drive to or from work.

While plowing in the winter, Bartness said he carries a chain so he can pull people out of the ditch.

Typically, Bartness plows the roads from December to March, and he grades the roads the rest of the year. A township supervisor can plow the roads if Bartness is out of town.

Bartness also mows the edges of the road in the spring and in the fall. He does this in the spring for safety, and in the fall, he cuts the grass so snow doesn’t pile in the roads.

“It’s a job that you can’t read a textbook and learn how to do it. You have to just plain get out there and run it,” Bartness said.

“It’s a learning experience, and I’m still learning,” he added.