Roads chosen for county paving project

Published 10:05 am Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Sections of three of Warren County’s worst roads will be resurfaced this year under the Board of Supervisors’ 2016 paving program.

The supervisors are expected Monday to advertise for bids to pave about one mile each of Floweree Road off U.S. 61 North south of Low Water Bridge Road near the Issaquena County line; Nailor Road off Fisher Ferry Road; and Redwood Road. They decided to go with the three roads at a Monday morning work session after discussions with Brian Robbins and John McKee of Stantec, the county’s engineer.

Paving the three roads was one of two alternatives presented to the board. The second alternative involved paving sections of nine other county roads. The county has $902,000 in gaming revenue set aside for this year’s paving project. Robbins estimated it cost about $331,000 per mile to put a 3-inch asphalt surface on a road, depending on the road’s condition and what other work may be needed.

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Board President Richard George recommended paving the three roads.

“I’d like to do our longest roads first,” George said. “These are main thoroughfares.”

Supervisor Charles Selmon, however, favored doing parts of nine roads.

“I’m looking at the whole page (of the road list),” he said. “I’d rather take the shotgun approach than do three roads in two or three districts.”

“In this case, we’re looking at major thoroughfares (as far as traffic), that have got problems,” George said. “There’s no easy way to do any of it. If you’re going to get something done, it would seem to me you’d work on your main thoroughfares first. What district it’s in doesn’t matter too much; the road is all to pieces and it gets out of hand.”

The road condition, he said “is oblivious to geographic location. And the cost of it is only going to get worse if you let it get worse.” A main road, he said, is more apt to get more traffic.

“The only problem I see is I believe all the roads need to be done,” Selmon said, “unfortunately, we have less than a $1 million to spend.”

He said the George’s plan had the county doing one-third each of three roads over three years, adidng the plan neglects the other county roads.

“Would rather see us do one road than one-third of three,” he said. “Of course you’re still neglecting the other roads.”

George said plan is to get the “highest and best use” from the money the county has “facing needs you can’t meet at this time, and you plan for better days.”

In other action, the board:

• Met with county resident Henry Blake, who asked to board to try and get Circuit Judge Isadore Partrick to rescind his order prohibiting firearms in the courthouse, which Blake said is a violation of state law and the state Constitution.

• Discussed requiring trailer park owners to supply dumpsters with county environmental officer Katie Strong.

• Discussed replacing an engine in the Kings Point Ferry. The cost is $21,881.