HOMER – The Banks County Commission is delivering on its promise to begin upgrades to all county roads through the county’s 2018 1-cent Roads and Bridges Tax.
“The good people of Banks County, back last year, voted to tax themselves one cent for improvement of roads and bridges,” said Chairman Jimmy Hooper. “This is the first step. This is $1.9 million worth of paving, which is the largest one-time paving that’s ever taken place in Banks County. I think it’s a total of seven roads, plus a contract for gravel for our dirt roads.”
Stratton and Sons Inc. of Canon, the low bidder, was awarded the contracts for the paving work.
Roads slated for improvement include:
- 0.82 mile of grading and paving on Mountain Creek Drive at a cost of $236,997.72;
- 0.40 mile of improvements to Hudson Valley Drive at a cost of $59,351.60;
- 5.82 miles of patching, leveling, resurfacing and shoulder filling on Caudell Road, Brewer Road and Berlin Road at a cost of $828,944.75; and
- 5.94 miles of patching, leveling, resurfacing and shoulder filling on Brown Bridge Road, Lord-Chambers Road and Hudson River Drive at a cost of $836,364.50.
The commission also approved moving forward with engineering and advertisement for Purcell Road.
The county’s more than $200,000 gravel contract for 2019 will include 17.74 miles of improvements to the following roads:
- 2.08 miles of Westmoreland Road;
- 1.77 miles of Pritchett Road;
- 0.24 mile of Carnes Road;
- 1.39 miles of Carnes Circle Road;
- 0.7 mile of Craig Road;
- 0.12 mile of Westbrook Road;
- 2.53 miles of Mitchell Road;
- 1.07 miles of Gowder Road;
- 0.5 mile of Purcell Road;
- 1.62 miles of Louden Ridge Road;
- 2.35 miles of Baldwin Heights Road;
- 1.53 miles of Dodd Road;
- 0.44 mile of Old Keesee Road; and
- 1.4 miles of Moss Farm Road.
“The contract on the gravel will mean that the majority of dirt roads not only will just get a little bit of gravel, they’ll get a lot of gravel,” Hooper said. “It’s our goal that by the time the five years run out on Roads and Bridges, every road in Banks County will see some improvement.”
