May 22, 2013
Last year, the Houston County Road System was named number one in Alabama with the highest grade ever. This year, the roads are tops again and then some.
County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said Houston County roads have set a new record for quality. Last year, the roads rated a 92 out of 100 -- the highest score in state history.
This year, after more improvements, they graded out at 93. Not bad when you consider state inspectors evaluate just about everything when they look at a county's road system.
Houston County engineer Mark Pool said having the best roads in the state was one of his goals when he came to Houston County.
Maintaining roads takes money and he's come up with a way to get more. Senator Harrianne Smith and Rep. Joe Carothers presented Culver with a commitment for an extra $400,000 from the state highway department that other counties couldn't use.
Pool plans to use the extra money to resurface County Road 55 between Highways 52 and 84. Work on the project should begin next summer.
Pool attributes Houston County's exceptional road system to the outstanding personnel in the Road and Bridge Department and the support of the county commission.
