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Commission schedules work session and outlines road‑paving priorities; Empire Road to be fully paved
Summary
Walker County commissioners discussed limited county funding for a large network of county roads, scheduled a public work session for April 28 to prioritize projects, and said an approved project will pave Empire Road end‑to‑end.
At the April 20 Walker County Commission meeting, commissioners spent substantial time discussing road maintenance priorities, county funding constraints and a near‑term public work session to review bridge and road projects.
Commissioner Jeff Burrough and Commissioner Jim Borden described the challenge of allocating limited funds across long county roads and many short access roads, stressing they seek to maximize the utility of every paving dollar. Commissioner Steven Aderholt described Empire Road as one of the region's oldest farm‑to‑market roads, said he believes it likely has not been paved since the 1980s and that recent work will link and fully pave the route from end to end. "With the section just approved will link it all together and totally pave Empire Road from one end to the other," Aderholt said.
Chairman Steve Miller said Walker County maintains roughly 1,185 miles of roads and estimated it would cost on the order of $180 million to pave them all, and he emphasized the county's limited annual budget (about $15.5 million) constrains how quickly projects can proceed. The commission approved scheduling a public work session on bridge and road projects for April 28, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., where commissioners said they will present mileage figures and work to prioritize projects.
No vote was recorded at the meeting to create new funding; commissioners framed the discussion as planning and prioritization in advance of the April 28 work session.
