Walker County has unveiled its road paving priorities for the new year as it continues work on an emergency rock stabilization project.
Board of Commissioners Chair Shannon Whitfield said in an episode of "The Walker County Government Hour" the 2024 goal would include about 50 miles of county roads in unincorporated areas. He also thanked voters for passing a special sales tax to go toward transportation projects.
"That's a big catalyst for paving this many roads," he said on the TV program.
In November, the tax was approved for five years with 67% voting in favor of it. The 1% sales tax will expire March 31, 2029, and raises about $6.7 million for the county annually, according to county officials.
The county's paving board will make a list this spring of which roads will be repaved this year, county spokesperson Joe Legge said in an email. The county has more than 900 roads, he said, and about 850 of them haven't been touched in years.
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Whitfield said he has a personal goal to pave every road in the county that hasn't been repaved in six or seven years.
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Walker County prioritizing 50 miles of paving in new year as rock stabilization work continues
Roads in the Villanow community were among the last on Whitfield's 2023 list, he said, including Concord Road, Ben Childs Road and the previously gravel Tate Road.
Some of the paving was delayed, Whitfield said, because the county had to install a new waterline and fire hydrants before work could begin.
A list of the county's new paving projects will soon be available on the state procurement website, he said. The projects will go through a bidding process, and contracts will be completed so work can begin in early spring as the weather improves.
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A Dougherty Gap Road rock slide Thanksgiving Day has made a road clearing and rock stabilization project a priority for the county, Whitfield said. The rockfall is on the stretch of Dougherty Gap Road near the top of Lookout Mountain, according to a social media post by the county.
At a Board of Commissioners meeting Dec. 28, the board unanimously approved a more-than-$136,000 contract for the stabilization project with GeoStabilization International. The Colorado-based company has contracted with Walker County for similar projects before, Whitfield said.
The road will be closed periodically for several weeks during the construction project, he said. The project began Jan. 8.
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The contract will include design, rock breaking and rock bolting, Carlen Bowers, the county's road superintendent, said at the meeting. The company has done a good job staying on budget in the past, he said.
"It'll be an interesting process," Bowers said.
Contact Andrew Wilkins at awilkins@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659.