Paving project progress and the replacement of a bridge that has been closed for two years on Shorty Burgess Road were discussed by the Board of Supervisors.

So far in phase two of the countywide paving project, the crews have completed about 21 miles of work, of which 10.5 miles was constructed with hot mix and 10.5 miles was constructed with DBST, said Les Dungan with Dungan Engineering.

Dungan said about another mile is of road planned for DBST is ready, and 3.4 miles of overlay work has been issued to the contractors.

Costs per mile for DBST are totaling about $40,000 currently, which includes cement treatment. Dungan said that hot mix is totaling about $105,000 per mile.

He has also noticed an increase with the fuel adjustment worked into the contract, leading to a total increase in the project’s cost of about 10 percent, or about $97,000. The fuel adjustment is leading to the price per ton, quoted at $112 per ton, to increase by about $10 to $15 per ton.

To get the best price, the county worked out a stipulation in the contract so the contractor could work on other projects, and use the county project to fill gaps within their schedule. Dungan said there is a clause in that contract that prevents the contractor from moving on to a new job if the current road they were working on was still in bad shape. Due to those stipulations, Dungan said he did not have a date when the contractor would return to pave more county roads.

In other repair matters, Dungan said the county is now ready to award the bid for the replacement of the bridge on Shorty Burgess Road. While bids were received in May, Dungan said he has been holding on to it due to an Emergency Road and Bridge Repair grant application. Now that the county has been approved for that grant, there are two funding sources for the project. Under Dungan’s suggestion, the Board awarded the project to Fred Fayard, who bid $346,925.

He added that even if the Board had awarded the bid back in May, the project still wouldn’t move forward until now due to the fact components needed for the project have been under construction since May.

Dungan also updated the Board about efforts to repair the weir on the Pearl River near Walkiah Bluff. An environmental consultant has been hired to help with the permitting process. Dungan also said a meeting with the Corps of Engineers was held this month and he feels the chances of getting the required permits are good.