Geneva County starting annual Rebuild Alabama county road repaving

GENEVA COUNTY, Ala. (WTVY) - Thanks to the state of Alabama’s gas tax, Geneva County has the opportunity to resurface portions of county roads yet again.

The county repaves some roads annually, but County Engineer Justin Barfield says it needs to be done more often.

“We have around 400 miles of paved roads in Geneva County and some of these roads have not been resurfaced since they were originally paved back in the 50s or 60s,” said Barfield.

This year, the county is resurfacing portions of County Roads 48, 49 and 99, for a total of 7.7 miles of road and costing $1.3 million dollars.

Luckily, the Rebuild Alabama Gas Tax allows the county to expand on what could normally be done.

“If it wasn’t for that, we would probably be doing about half the mileage that we usually would do,” said Barfield. “It’s been a great program for us and lets us pave more miles a year than what we we’re used to.”

With heavy amounts of traffic throughout the years, the roads already have significant wear and tear. As roads are repaved, many of the safety and cosmetic issues are handled.

“You have potholes, you have a narrow road where the edges are broken off, so we’re retaining the original pavement to get rid of the potholes,” said Barfield. “This is just much needed, not only for smoother travel, but for safer travel and so forth for the citizens of Geneva County and coming in from out of the county.”

With roadwork going on, many construction workers will be on site. Due to this and the significance of the project, Barfield urges travelers to take things slow and follow the rules of the signs posted on work sight signs.

“There will be pilot cars to get you through the project and just know you will have some minor delays getting to and from your destinations if you travel these roads,” said Barfield.

According to Barfield, the resurfacing should be finished within the next four weeks. After the resurfacing is complete, the construction crews will work on the shoulders of the roads and repainting the lines.

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