Lee County to spend $1.7M repairing roads this year
Feb. 7—TUPELO — Lee County officials have approved an updated four-year plan to pave the county's roadways, which includes a total of $1.7 million in road repairs for the current year.
On Monday, Lee County supervisors voted unanimously to approve their road-repair plans for the next four years. County officials hope to provide maintenance to 36 county roads over the next year. Nine roads are- slotted for new asphalt, and 27 will get microseal coatings over existing roads. Roads on the docket for repair this year total a little over 36 miles.
"I'm pretty sure we are going to do everything we've got on (the road plan) this year," County Road Manager Tim Allred said. "I'm more certain this year than I have been in previous years."
Allred said most of the work will begin a little later than regular paving seasons because it will be primarily micro-seal coatings over existing roads. He noted his department started the purchase orders for the micro sealant.
Allred praised the technique, noting that it can extend the life of aging county roads by up to seven years. He also noted that the cost to micro-seal a road is significantly less per mile than the cost of asphalt. For an 18-foot wide road, micro-seal costs about $34,000 a mile while asphalt costs upwards of $100,000 per mile.
"It may not be as thick, but it is a good riding surface," he said.
The county significantly downsized its plans for road maintenance from last year, when the plan called for 43 roads totaling about 60 miles at a total cost of $2.5 million. Allred said the county completed $1.7 million worth of maintenance, noting the unfinished roads got pushed back to this year.
"We stopped short," Allred said, calling the road plan a living document that changes month to month.
County Administrator Bill Benson noted the plan's overall flexibility as well, adding that it is approved, and re-approved annually in February.
"As soon as it gets to paving time, it may be amended, but that is the current plan," he said.
