Lawrence County Judge Gary Barnhill gave us an update on road projects and improvements in Lawrence County this year.
Judge Barnhill said some 9 miles of Game and Fish roads in Lawrence County including Game & Fish accesses would be improved in the county with the help of a grant, the AG&F grant provides some $178,000 in material with the Road Department providing the labor and equipment for the project. The labor and equipment cost provided by the county is estimated to be $236,000 bringing the total project to an estimated $414,000. Part of the funding for this project came from the Marine Fuel Tax.
Other projects include the overlay of Lawrence 511 from Portia to Clover Bend expected to begin this fall. Judge Barnhill said the final figures should be in today, a meeting is planned to finalize figures on this project expected to cost around $1,000,000 with the county’s part likely being less than $100,000 with the remainder paid by grants.
Earlier this week the State of Arkansas announced that Lawrence County is one of the counties to receive additional funding from the State Of Arkansas for unpaved road improvements.
Governor Sanders and the Arkansas Department Of Agriculture announced more than $735,000 in funding for 12 counties including $45,680.00 for Lawrence County. Judge Barnhill informed us that this is a 50/50 match grant.
The funds are designated for the relocation of over 1800 feet of roadway from the river bank, construct new sections of a levee top and establish a riparian buffer.
Judge Barnhill also informed us that the Road Department in addition to these projects is also working to fix damage caused by several weather events this year. Barnhill said he’s expecting FEMA funding to become available soon.