Supervisors mull paving proposal for Middleton Creek Road

To pave, or not to pave?

That is the question the Franklin County Board of Supervisors asked last week about Middleton Creek Road.

Mike McKenzie, who serves as county engineer, had the panel pass a board order setting the budget for a project involving resurfacing of the road during its business meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

The budget was established at $714,700 — $269,200 coming from federal sources and $445,500 from State Aid funds.

“We’ve talked about the possibility of taking the pavement off,” McKenzie said. “I asked Dozer late last week to send me a price for crushed limestone. They sent me a price of $61 a ton.”

He went on to explain supervisors would also likely have to remove and replace clay gravel from the existing road bed, which would raise the cost of the project.

“(If we) remove all that pavement and swap it out with four inches of limestone and eight inches (of road bed), all we’re saving is $41,000,” he said.

The estimated cost of laying pavement was $124,000 while the crushed limestone option — in addition to replacing the eight inches of road bed — was $83,000.

Also factoring into the decision is a grant the county received from the Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) for improvements on Middleton Creek Road — namely, adding chip seal and blacktop leading up to the bridge currently under construction.

Additionally, the United States Forest Service has plans in place to cut trees in that area and would use Middleton Creek Road as a route to haul logs, which would cause more wear on asphalt than regular traffic.

“Limestone’s a lot easier to mess with than to fix wheel ruts in asphalt,” District 5 Supervisor and Board President Jimmie “Bodi” Bass said.

“That’s something else we need to think about. The asphalt will hold up with car and truck traffic, but it’s harder to maintain (with heavier loads). The road’s in my district, but I want y’all’s opinion on this, too.”

“If they’re fixing to pull logs out of there, I think I’d put that lime down,” District 3 Supervisor Mike “Dirt” Hunt said.

District 2 Supervisor Henry “Eddie” Stebbins said he agreed with Hunt.

McKenzie added that, as of yet, a date hasn’t been set for the Forest Service to cut timber, and they also didn’t know how much was going to be cut.

Bass agreed, saying it could be anywhere from 10 months to 10 years for the cutting to begin.

After some discussion, the board ultimately set aside the decision for a later date.

In other action, the panel:

• Received an update regarding Natural Resources Conservation Service funding for the bridge on Tennessee Street in Roxie.

“I talked to NRCS about the bridge in Roxie, and he said they thought they would be able to get us a financial agreement by the first of March,” McKenzie said.

Upon signing the financial agreement, the county would receive the funding for the necessary repairs.

The bridge, along with a local resident’s driveway, is being threatened by erosion happening on the nearby west bank.

Representatives from NRCS approved the project with an estimated cost of $130,000 in March of last year.

In November, supervisors voted to provide the 25 percent match necessary to receive NRCS funding for the project.

• Approved payment of an invoice from the Mozingo and Quarles law firm for services provided in the redistricting process through Jan. 28 in the amount of $11,402.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday, March 7 at the courthouse.