Harmon Provides Update On Summer Paving Project
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District Three Supervisor Kenny Harmon inspects progress on County Road 225 after a sweeper brushed excess rock off it Tuesday morning. Harmon reported over eight-and-a-half miles of county roads in his district were resurfaced this summer. He also shared that progress is slow in District 3, as he had miles and miles of more roads that need major work.
WATER VALLEY – A summer project in one county district is winding down after eight-and-a-half miles of roads were paved. District Three Supervisor Kenny Harmon reported the work spans five-and-a-half miles on County Road 225, eight-tenths of a mile on County Road 91 and 1.6 miles on County Road 191.
The mat and seal roads, a process commonly utilized in Yalobusha County on county roads, utilizes tar and rocks to form a paved surface instead of using asphalt that is much more expensive. The total cost for the paving work in Harmon’s district is approximately $550,000.
Harmon said the project started earlier this summer as his crews cut the shoulders down along the side of the roads to allow proper drainage, hauling over 100 dump truck loads of excess dirt that accumulated over the years. He also said crews worked to cut the overhanging limbs before the actual road work started.
This paving project was different for Harmon, who has served as supervisor for almost five years, as a milling machine was used to grind the existing pavement, basically taking the road bed back to dirt.
“Because they were too far gone,” Harmon explained about removing the old pavement. “When we got it milled up, we packed it. We watered it and packed it.”
Next Harmon said a heavy coat of tar was sprayed on the road bed, and a mixture of rocks commonly called crusher run were placed on the tar, forming the first layer. A second layer of tar was sprayed on roads and it was lined with smaller rocks, for the final finish. Harmon said that 2,920 tons of rocks were placed on the roads, not counting the crusher run used for the first layer.
After the second layer, Harmon’s crews waited around 10 days to allow time for the rocks to stick to the tar before the excess rocks were removed.
“Folks were complaining because the roads had ripples in them. That was all the extra rock, we are sweeping that off this week,” Harmon explained.
Harmon said the expenditure has exhausted his road budget and it will take time for it to replenish.
“I probably have 20 more miles of county road that needs to be ground up,” he said. “The reason I did County Road 225 is because that is the county interstate on this side of my beat. Those other little roads I worked on were in that area. There are some more roads in that area that need to be done, but I didn’t have enough money to do all of them,” Harmon said.
Harmon said it will ultimately take more more money to catch up on road maintenance in his district.
“This may get me pushed to the street curb, but I am going to say it and I have said it over and over. We have to have more money to keep moving forward,” Harmon stressed. “Can you get it all done? No sir. But everything you can get done makes it better for the future.”
