U.S. Patent 10,253,230 B1
Granted April 9, 2019
View the 2019 patent record →Public Works & Infrastructure Leadership
Ty Barger
Tyrrell “Ty” Barger is Ouray County’s Road & Bridge Superintendent and the 2025 CARSE Road Supervisor of the Year. His work spans county road planning, winter maintenance, fleet management and public works leadership in Colorado and Nebraska.
Patents & Winter-Maintenance Innovation
Ty Barger’s deicing-brine patents
Ty Barger is the named inventor, recorded as Ty L. Barger, on two related U.S. patents for producing deicing brines without crystallization. Both records list the City of Lincoln, Nebraska as assignee.
The work addresses salt crystals that can obstruct pumps, hoses and nozzles when blending deicing solutions. The patent records document the technical approach; the Lincoln case study explains the winter-maintenance program behind the work.
Explore the Lincoln case studyU.S. Patent 11,613,684 B1
Granted March 28, 2023
View the related 2023 patent →Field notes & documented results
Work that connects plans to crews and roads
Ouray County · 2026High-country accessSeasonal clearing, rock work and route decisions →
Ouray County · 2026Road planning and deliveryFrom a six-year program to specific field work →
Lincoln, Nebraska · 2016Smarter pothole repairOne operator, a faster patching process →Field photographs illustrate Ouray County operations, not any unverified specific project or route.
Road & Bridge
County road and bridge maintenance, construction, high-country access, long-range planning, right-of-way policy, and operational leadership.
Transportation Operations
Statewide procurement, commercial construction support, facilities maintenance, fleet management, emergency coordination, and vendor performance.
Municipal Public Works
Large-team leadership across streets, fleet, facilities, stormwater, environmental compliance, budgeting, labor relations, and winter operations.
Selected Professional Work
Operations, research, innovation, and public service
Ty’s career has combined frontline operational leadership with strategic planning, organizational development, fiscal stewardship, infrastructure management, and measurable improvements in service delivery.
Independent professional sources document work ranging from winter-maintenance research and deicing innovation to municipal pothole-repair efficiency, statewide process improvement, and county road-and-bridge leadership.
Project Case Studies
Documented public works programs
Lincoln winter maintenance
Custom brines, laboratory testing and changes to field deployment. Ty reports an approximately 30% reduction in total program costs; the published technical record documents the equipment, treatments and material comparisons.
Read the Lincoln case study →Ouray County road planning
Published one-and-six year road plans connect a repeatable pavement-preservation program to completed-work reports, route-level projects and visible budget tradeoffs.
Read the Ouray case study →Lincoln spray patching
Four trucks introduced in 2016 changed crew assignments, repair methods and exposure to live traffic. A contemporary interview with Ty records the early results.
Read the spray-patching case study →High-country access
Seasonal snow and rock work in Ouray County, traced from superintendent reports and illustrated with original field photography.
Read the high-country article →Independent Sources
Professional recognition and technical work
2025 Road Supervisor of the Year
CARSE recognized Ty Barger for leadership in county road and bridge operations, including management of more than 300 miles of roadway and long-range road planning.
Commissioner Niece cited his “integrity, organization, ingenuity, and bottom-line effectiveness” in the County’s award release.
“Customizing Brine”
Technical article co-authored by Ty Barger on customized liquid-brine strategies, reduced chloride use, winter-maintenance effectiveness, and cost control.
Mechanical Rocker Test
Nebraska DOT research identifies Ty Barger as Highway Operations Assistant Division Manager and a lead technical advisory member on deicer testing.
Pothole-Repair Efficiency
Government Fleet quoted Ty Barger on Lincoln’s use of spray-patching equipment to reduce labor requirements, street closures, and repeat repairs.
Road & Bridge Policy & Planning
Official Ouray County resources
Selected Road & Bridge planning and leadership materials developed during Ty Barger’s tenure as Superintendent.
1 and 6 Year Road Plan
Ouray County’s official Road & Bridge planning page provides the County’s current and prior one-year and six-year road plans, including the 2024, 2025 and 2026 plans.
View the official Road Plan page →Policy Bulletin 21-02 — Leadership
The Road & Bridge leadership policy establishes supervisory standards for Crew Chiefs, the Lead Mechanic, Road Foreman and Superintendent, emphasizing example, timely decisions, delegation, training, communication, accountability and employee development.
View Policy Bulletin 21-02 →Featured Insight
Managing Rural Road and Bridge Systems as Long-Term Public Assets
Rural road and bridge leadership requires more than responding to individual projects. This article presents a practical framework for connecting service standards, condition, drainage, long-range planning, workforce capacity, emergency readiness, and public communication.