Jim Kelley appeared on behalf of the Road Department at Monday’s quorum court meeting, and explained that a gravel road costs about $2,200 per mile per year to maintain. Paved roads cost $8,200 per mile, and those account for 143 miles, while the county has 475 miles of gravel roads.
Kelley said the department is assessing paved roads to see which ones they can save. “If they go through another bad winter, they’ll be gone in spring,” he said. Selected roads will receive a one-inch overlay, while some paved roads may return to gravel.
“A chip-and-seal road not kept up is rougher than a gravel road,” JP Larry Swofford said. Kelley added, “We try to save the ones we have before we add more.” He also explained that chip-and-seal projects in the county have long been installed without a proper base, but “now we build them up first.”
Kelley shared photos of some major projects either completed or underway, including Carroll Road 924, which had more than a quarter mile washed out. On CR 233, near Beaver, the road washed away at both ends of a bridge, and a bridge washed out on CR 704. Work continues on other roads that suffered flood damage.
Since 2008, the county has received $4.6 million from FEMA to repair roads and bridges damaged by flooding.