Lincoln County approves five-year (20262030) road and bridge plan needed for state grant eligibility

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners on Oct. 7 approved the county's five-year Road and Bridge Plan for fiscal years 2026 through 2030, a formal requirement for applying for major state and federal bridge grants.

Jared Naram, the highway department assistant, told the board the plan is required for the DOT to accept bridge grant applications and described projects listed for 2026 through 2030: preliminary engineering for several bridges, a federally funded bridge replacement at no local cost, ER mitigation at Lake Alvin, channel realignment, microsurfacing on County Road 152, and a roundabout planned at the 116/105 intersection north of Lennox. Naram said the plan also includes county-force asphalt and maintenance work and noted ongoing work on a mill-and-overlay project that has been deferred several times.

During discussion commissioners asked about a guardrail and short-term fixes near Lake Outland; staff said the larger project (a triple 9-by-9 cast-in-place box and associated site work) is included in the plan and that temporary measures were not costed because the full project will remove the need for interim work. Naram noted some projects will be submitted for grant funding and others will be completed by county forces.

The board moved and seconded the plan for approval and adopted it by roll-call vote. Chair and staff confirmed printed copies of the plan were available to the public.

Approval permits the county to pursue grant funding and schedules local-preservation and reconstruction work over the next five years.