Henry County officials warn of $200,000 road-aid shortfall and approve bids for asphalt, rock and striping

The Henry County fiscal court heard that projected county road aid has dropped by roughly $200,000 from last year, forcing officials to scale back paving plans and prioritize worst spots on county roads.

Zach, who reported on crew work, told the court the crew installed a new cross drain and cut a ditch on Jackson Road, cleaned culverts and placed 40 tons of channel liner on Wolfpin Branch Road to address erosion. "The crew's been busy with drainage improvements, grading and rock and gravel roads," Zach said.

In committee reporting, magistrates were told the preliminary county road-aid projection arrived at about $991,000 compared with roughly $1.28 million last year. A court speaker said the decline means there will likely be cuts to planned paving: "So that's a big hurt, but we'll get through it," the magistrate said.

The court approved permission to advertise for bids for rock, asphalt and salt and to include striping in solicitations. A motion to advertise passed with a recorded motion (mover listed in the transcript as "ID," second by Kevin). Officials noted that asphalt prices are expected to be higher this year because of fuel costs and urged staff to assemble bid packages quickly so contractors can set prices based on location and project size.

The court also discussed short-term repair strategies: instead of long stretches of pave-and-go, staff were directed to identify and prioritize the worst segments for milling and targeted repair. Officials emphasized that some sections are recurring trouble spots where repeated cold-patch has failed.

Next steps: the county will advertise bids as authorized and staff will compile a list of priority paving segments for contractors to bid on. The court will incorporate the new road-aid projection into the upcoming budget review.