$660K paving complete for county roads, $2 million more anticipated

Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 28, 2017

 

NATCHEZ — The county recently completed an approximately $660,000 paving project and anticipates spending $2 million on asphalt next year.

For the $660,000, more than 15 roads received some work from contractor Blain Company. While it can vary depending on width and thickness, a rule of thumb for asphalt cost is approximately $100,000 per mile, said District 1 Supervisor Mike Lazarus.

Email newsletter signup

Earlier this summer, the county renewed a $650,000 bond issue to pave roads. A $2.5 million bond will come off the books in 2018. Both bonds had previously been used for asphalt projects.

While the original bond was for $2.5 million, supervisors are considering scaling the asphalt portion back to $2 million due to other projects, such as two roofs in need of repair, Kingston School House and Providence Community Center, all of which need attention in the coming year.

Supervisors have also verbally committed to keeping $500,000 in the budget after 2018 to pay for asphalt projects. The supervisors originally committed $500,000 to pay for a swimming pool near Natchez High School along with the City of Natchez. The county plans to keep the funds available going forward with hopes of getting all county roads in good shape.

The roads selected would come from the four-year road plan, but supervisors also submit a wish list to Road Manager Robbie Dollar. The wish list can include city roads, which would not be on the county’s plan. Dollar ultimately selects the roads that get improved.

During this round, roads in all five districts received work.

In District 1, Lazarus’ district, work was done at the Co-Lin entrance, two sections of Mazique Lane and Pecanway Drive. The total cost in District 1 was $89,147.80.

Roads that received work in David Carter’s District 2 were Jeannette Road, two sections of Greenfield Road and two sections of Kingston Road. The total spending in District 2 was $159,220.47.

Only one road — Duck Pond Road — received work in Angela Hutchin’s District 3, but the district received the most funding. Paving on Duck Pond Road cost $172,916.80.

A section of Martin Luther King Jr. Road was split between Ricky Gray’s District 4 and Calvin Butler’s District 5.

Other roads in Gray’s district receiving work were Landsdowne Park Road, Spring Street, Pearl Street, Triplett Road and West Oak Street. Total cost in District 4 was $127,296.52.

Cleothia Henyard Heights, South Broadmoor Drive and Chickapin Drive all received work in Butler’s district in addition to Martin Luther King Jr. Road. Total cost in District 5 was $112,524.29.