Smith County officials gave an update during Commissioners Court Tuesday on the progress of two Smith County Road Bonds passed by voters.
The Smith County Road Bond Phase 1 for $39.5 million was approved by 73 percent of the vote on November 7, 2017. More than 376 miles of roads were improved with major reconstruction and/or repaving, and some of the roads were also widened for safety purposes. Two bridges were also reconstructed.
All of the $39.5 million for Phase 1 has been issued, Smith County Auditor Ann Wilson reported.
The Smith County Road Bond Phase 2 for $45 million was approved by 62.4 percent of the vote on November 2, 2021. Another $11 million out of the county’s reserve funds was dedicated to help fund Phase 2 of the Road Bond Program.
There are more than 282 miles of roads scheduled to be improved during the second phase of the bond program.
So far for Phase 2, $25 million has been issued.
Mrs. Wilson said about half of the remaining $20 million is scheduled to be issued this spring, with the other $10 million to be issued next year. She said there is no deadline to issue the remaining bonds, but once they are issued, the county has three years to complete the construction projects before penalties can be assessed.
Smith County Road and Bridge Department crews work on some of the bond projects when roads just need to be repaved. But roads that need major reconstruction and widening are bid out and conducted by contractors.
Phase 1 of the bond initially had 17 road projects with work being done by contractors but ended up with 33 projects conducted by contractors, he said.
County Engineer Frank Davis said the Road Bond Plans must be flexible because issues come up and circumstances change.
One such example is County Road 358, which was originally scheduled to only have a portion of the road repaired. But after a ranch was sold and made into a development with more than 160 residential lots, construction equipment and heavy use of the road will require reconstruction of the road base before repaving.
Another change made was CR 168, originally planned for Phase 2. But after a culvert washed out and needed replacing, the road project was moved up to Phase 1 so the road could be improved at the same time.
A section of CR 285 was moved from Phase 1 to Phase 2, because a bridge needed to be replaced. Davis said he did not want construction traffic affecting the new road so they waited until the bridge was replaced to reconstruct the road.
About 90 miles have been reconstructed, widened and/or repaved in the Road Bond Phase 2 so far, with another 16.6 miles under contract and nearly 22 miles in the planning and/or bidding stage, Davis reported.
In the last few years, inflation has caused the cost of cement to go up 165 percent, and hot mix overlay for paving to go up 143 percent, Davis said, which has caused the cost of the construction projects to also rise.
Davis also addressed questions from Commissioners Court about the severe weather experienced in May and June of 2024. While contractors were able to continue to work on road bond projects, his Road and Bridge Department employees were pulled off road projects to help clean up storm debris and repair roads and culverts washed out by the storms.
Davis said he was personally committed to seeing the Road Bond Program completed and plans to provide the Commissioners Court with updates on a semi-annual basis.
The 45-page Smith County Road Bond Program Update presentation can be found in its entirety at www.smith-county.com/i-want-to/view/county-road-projects
