Newton County supervisors are looking forward to 2020 for future road and bridge repairs throughout their five beats.
In a regularly scheduled Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday, County Engineer Duane Stanford told supervisors they could expect to receive about $2 million in State Aid funds in January 2020. To speed up the work, he said he could go ahead and draw up specifications and plans for any projects the supervisors wanted.
“I can have it ready, or at least the bulk of it, when the money comes in January,” he said.
Under state law, county supervisors are prohibited from entering into new contracts past July 1 that would carry over to another board. The law is intended to keep new supervisors from having to bear the financial costs of a project they did not approve.
While no contracts can be awarded, Stanford said he could use the time to program future projects to be ready when the election-year restriction is lifted and the funds roll in.
The board agreed programming future projects would be a good idea for the last 6-months of the year. Supervisor Joe Alexander said the county roads, especially, need some work.
“We’ve got to reseal about 100 miles,” he said.
Unfortunately, Stanford said, the Office of State Aid doesn’t want this year’s allocation to counties spent on roads. Although State Aid funds can be spent on either roads or bridges, so long as the fall on a designated State Aid route, any projects using State Aid funds must be approved by the Office of State Aid.
“They don’t want us to do roads,” he said. “They want us to do bridges.”
Supervisor Charles Moulds said the county would be hurt if the Office of State Aid did not allow road projects in 2020.
“Well, that’s going to kill us,” he said.
In several areas throughout the county, Moulds said, the bridge is in good condition, but the road is almost impassable. He said there is no point in having a bridge if there isn’t a road leading up to it.
Still, the $2 million State Aid allocation could go a long way toward improving the county’s infrastructure. The board tasked Stanford with coming up with a list of potential projects for supervisors to look at in their next meeting.
In other infrastructure news, Stanford said:
●plans to repair a bridge on Newton-Calhoun Road are moving forward. The contractor is ready to begin, and they are waiting for Mississippi Department of Transportation to release the funds;
●Pat Harrison Waterway has been contacted to help with replacing 5-6 culverts throughout Beat 3; and
●a bid to level and resurface Simpson Road in Beat 1 has been awarded. The contractor is finishing up another project and will begin work in the next few weeks. In the meantime, Stanford will draw up a contract for the county and contractor to sign so both parties know what work is to be done.
