Newly reelected Oswego Township Highway Commissioner talks about goals in second term

As a 50-year resident of Boulder Hill, Oswego Township Highway Commissioner Claude Ainsworth wants to continue to improve the community that he lives in.

That’s why he decided to run for a second term as highway commissioner. He was reelected in the April 1 consolidated election.

“I’m trying to improve the community as a whole,” Ainsworth said. “I’m not quite satisfied with the things I’ve accomplished. I still have some things I want to do.”

Boulder Hill, which is in Oswego Township, is the largest unincorporated subdivision in the state. As of July 2021, there were more than 8,000 people living in the 1.45 square mile subdivision.

Prior to being elected in 2021, Ainsworth had worked for a civil engineering firm and helped municipalities to improve their infrastructure.

“I would do this kind of work for other communities,” he said.

The Oswego Township Road District Department handles the maintenance and reconstruction of about 70 miles of road and adjacent right of way. In the past four years, Ainsworth has been doing his best to improve the structural integrity of the roads in the township.

“I’ve been stretching a buck and getting a lot of things done,” he said.

He also was able to get approval from the county to reduce the speed limit through Boulder Hill from 30 mph to 25 mph. Ainsworth noted that speeding had been a problem in parts of Boulder Hill.

“We’ve made some strides in trying to slow people down,” he said. “We’ve also made some strides in trying to improve the condition of roads in all areas, including across the river and in subdivisions out in the country.”

A major project for the road district this year will be making repairs to the only bridge maintained by Oswego Township. The bridge is located on Reservation Road and is sinking into Morgan Creek.

Ainsworth said he is working with engineers to fix the problem by designing a flat bottom bridge structure.

“This will create a large foot print for the bottom of the bridge to sit on,” he said.

In his second term, Ainsworth aims to continue the work he started in his first term. He has applied for a state grant to move the sidewalk along Boulder Hill Pass, which Ainsworth said currently is too close to the street and poses a hazard to pedestrians.

He likes his job.

“This is a fun job,” Ainsworth said. “Every day is something different.”