Madison County approves east–west road crews, awards Verilia and Rocky Hill construction contracts

Madison County supervisors on Feb. 3 approved reorganizing the road department into East and West crews and awarded construction contracts for two rural road projects, the board was told.

County staff presented a plan to split road operations along Highway 55 as the dividing line so each side would operate near-equivalent crews and equipment. "We do believe that this will fundamentally... help us more efficiently deploy our resources," a county official said. The plan keeps a single road manager by statute while assigning Lawrence to the West side and Veil Fleming to the East; the county acknowledged the county-owned paving machine may need to be shared or rented during peak paving season.

The board approved engineering recommendations to accept the lowest bid for DBST work on Verilia Road from TL Wallace Construction for $351,511.78 and to transfer $411,300 in Madison County state aid funds to cover construction, a 5% contingency and contract administration services. A motion to approve the TL Wallace contract and the fund transfer passed by voice vote.

The board also approved the low bid from Hemphill Construction to complete the Rocky Hill Road bridge rehabilitation for $227,091.50 and authorized the board president to sign the construction contract.

County staff provided updates on other road projects and a larger unfunded road plan for 2025. A county engineer gave a construction schedule estimate for projects coming to bid in late winter and spring. Officials said they would return with more detailed cost estimates for remaining segments; one estimate cited for completing the Stump Bridge to Highway 51 segment was roughly $1.5 million.

The board approved the reorganization and the construction contracts in separate motions during the Feb. 3 meeting.