At the January meeting of the Coffee County highway committee, staff updated members on winter maintenance, materials costs and a grant that could fund a countywide road inventory.

Ben, speaking for the road crew, said workers have been maintaining equipment for spring mowing and recently hooked up a shoulder machine for repairs. He said weather has limited paving this season and the department has been using a new, pricier mix on hot-mix roads to patch potholes.

“This will be the first time we’ve really had anyone other than ourselves looking at it,” Ben said of the grant work, adding the award looks likely. “That’s, 200 and some odd thousand dollars,” he said, describing the grant as a scanning and inventory project that would produce a list of roads and estimated costs to fix them. Ben said the county would likely provide some local funding and that he will attend a seminar in Nashville before the end of the month about the grant (SEG 113–131).

Committee members also discussed long-term material costs. Ben noted asphalt oil has been “up close to $3 a gallon” historically but had recently moved lower, near $2, and cautioned price volatility could affect spring work (SEG 088–103).

Joe reported crews have been cleaning storm damage from a December storm, with about a dozen roads affected by downed trees. He said two to three crews are patching potholes and planned ditching work on a prioritized list of roads; residents were asked to report potholes to the county office at 728-3321 rather than posting to social media, and to call the comm center at 728-9555 for urgent problems (SEG 142–213).

Committee members identified local priorities for resurfacing, including a rough segment associated with David Jacobs and parts of the Bankshire subdivision. A utility issue near Fredonia was reported as a broken water main that had kept a roadway area soggy until repaired (SEG 216–252).

The committee set its next meeting for Feb. 4 at 3:00 p.m. at the Ministry of the Plaza and adjourned (SEG 609–621).

The highway staff indicated funding and weather will determine how much of the planned spring paving can be completed; the grant, if finalized and accepted, would provide an inventory and cost estimates to guide those decisions.