County highway staff report mowing and paving progress, cite weather and budget timing

Commission staff reported routine maintenance and capital activities at the Coffee County Highway Commission June meeting, saying crews have completed a first mowing cycle, begun a second pass, patched buckling pavement on Fred Lusk, cleaned ditches, and planned paving when weather allows.

Staff noted increased truck traffic from a reopened quarry and a Ready Mix operation supplying the Manchester cement plant, which has brought more dump trucks onto local roads. Crews patched a weakened section on Fred Lusk and said they hope to place hot mix when conditions dry. Staff also added Devil's Backbone (Fire Lake area) to the county paving list and said flagging will be required during work.

County staff said recent rains forced crews to shift to drier sites and that available paving funds must be used before the June 30 budget-year cutoff. Commissioners said the county has obtained multiple state safety surveys and state grant funding for past road-safety projects; officials said three safety surveys together totaled close to $750,000 and that at least one road was improved using a state grant at no cost to the county.

Other routine items included removal of brush and debris from tiles and ditches, replacement of mailboxes that were hit during mowing (staff said contractors and county crews sometimes knock down boxes and staff have been replacing them), and trimming requests for intersections with poor sight lines (Casey and Riggsby corners were specifically mentioned). The commission approved the agenda and May minutes earlier in the meeting and agreed to move the July meeting from July 1 to July 8 at 3:00 p.m. at the Administrative Plaza to avoid holiday scheduling conflicts.

No formal votes were taken on new paving projects or traffic-control installations at the meeting; staff said they will prioritize near-term paving work based on weather and available funds and will follow up on intersection trimming and mailbox replacements.