Drivers in Alcorn County’s Second District will soon see fresh asphalt. The Alcorn County Board of Supervisors on Monday, Oct. 5, approved a contract for Farmington Road paving that covers a little more than one mile of the county road, the Daily Corinthian reported.
The board gave the State Aid project to Cook & Son Construction of Smithville, whose bid was $406,406.73. According to the report, the county’s engineering firm, Cook Coggin Engineers, was satisfied with the bid, which came in roughly $10,000 below the engineer’s estimate.
Farmington Road paving: what supervisors approved
The key details of Monday’s vote:
Project: State Aid resurfacing on Farmington Road
Length: a little more than one mile
Location: Alcorn County’s Second Supervisor District
Contractor: Cook & Son Construction, Smithville
Contract amount: $406,406.73
Compared with estimate: about $10,000 under the engineering estimate
The county has not yet announced a start date or any traffic plans for the work. Drivers should watch for flaggers and lane closures once crews arrive, and the county is expected to share timing as the job nears.
How State Aid road projects work
Mississippi’s State Aid Road program helps counties pay for work on designated county roads that carry more traffic than typical rural routes. The state Office of State Aid Road Construction oversees the program. Projects go out for public bids, and the county board of supervisors awards the contract, usually to the lowest qualified bidder.
Farmington Road has been in the program before. State records show Alcorn County let a State Aid overlay of about 1.08 miles on Farmington Road in November 2005. A 2019 State Aid maintenance project covering more than 10 miles of county roads also included it.
Part of a busy stretch for county roads
The contract arrives during a busy season for road and infrastructure decisions in Alcorn County. Supervisors recently used a storm-related loan to pay for recovery costs, and the Mississippi Department of Transportation has paving work underway on state highways across the region.
A bid that comes in under the engineer’s estimate leaves a little more room in the county’s road budget. With State Aid money and county road funds stretched across hundreds of miles of roads, every dollar saved matters for future projects.
What residents can do
Watch for work-zone signs and flaggers once the project begins, and slow down near crews.
Questions about county road projects can go to the Alcorn County Board of Supervisors office at the Alcorn County Courthouse in Corinth.
Supervisors’ meetings are open to the public. Road contracts, bids, and State Aid projects come up regularly on the agenda.
Jon R Myers is the executive editor of Alcorn County News and the founder of the Mississippi News Group, which he started in 2013 to cover communities across North Mississippi. He also founded the Mississippi Sports Group in 2006, which grew from a single community publication into a statewide network covering high school and college athletics. He reports on local government, public safety, schools and community life in Corinth and Alcorn County, working from public meetings, agency records and interviews with the people involved. Contact him at editor@alcornnewsms.com with news tips or corrections. For a correction, include the article link and supporting source material.
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