Roads in line for work


Thursday, January 6, 2011
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Roads in line for work

By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer

With the economy constricted, there is not a lot of money laying around for road improvements in the county.

Larry Britt, county engineer, has found some State Aid and Surface Transportation Program dollars to stripe about 60 miles of roads in Marshall County. The state and federal dollars will ease the burden on the county budget to pay to stripe roads and improve roadway safety.

Some money may also come available to pave a few miles of roadway and Red Banks Road is likely the one that will get the attention.

There are about four miles of the road “that are coming apart,” according to Eddie Dixon, District 2 supervisor. He emphasized that portions of Red Banks Road are in dire need of resurfacing. He wants the two miles of overlay to begin on the north end of Red Banks Road and run south as far as the money goes.

“I’ve been begging for that overlay a long time,” he told supervisors at the December 20, 2010, meeting.

Supervisor George Zinn III agreed Red Banks Road needs resurfacing from Highway 302 all the way to the Coldwater bridge.

It needs it all the way to Highway 78, he said.

With that, the board voted to program a portion of Red Banks Road for overlay with the State Aid program.

The use of state and federal dollars for striping will save the county about $100,000 and the savings can be used to patch and level damaged county roads, Britt said. The board approved a motion to program the striping project with State Aid.

Restriping of portions or segments of the following roads will be programed with State Aid dollars:

Early Grove Road south of Highway 72.
Mt. Zion Road.
Red Banks Road north to Taska Road and south to Marianna Road.
Briscoe Road at McAlexander Loop intersection.
Potts Camp Road.
Taska Road to Highway 72 at Mt. Pleasant.
South Clear Creek Road.

STP dollars will be used to pay for striping of portions of the following roads:

Marianna Road section and Laws Hill/Galena.
Portions of Waterford Road and Bethlehem Road.
Portions of Chewalla Road.
Portions of Stonewall Road in the Byhalia area.

Supervisors chose the roads with the greatest need which could be paid for with state and federal dollars. Also, in this manner, some roads in each supervisor’s district are to be improved and made safer for drivers.

Following these actions, the board discussed reapportionment which comes up in 2011 following the 2010 U.S. Census report.

The board voted to ask the State Legislature to move the deadline for candidates for supervisor to qualify from March 1 to June 1. Supervisors said they are not optimistic they will get any help from the Legislature but they are going to ask for assistance anyway.

Some counties are worried that the 2010 Census population data will not be provided in time for the county to file a redistricting plan with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Supervisors approved the renewal of a contract with the Tri-County Drug Task Force.

Marshall, Benton and Tippah counties participate in the task force by the assignment of officers from each county to the task force.

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