COUNTY SETS POLICY FOR ROAD PAVING

JACKSON -- Cape Girardeau County has developed a new policy that should help eager landowners move road paving projects ahead on the county's paving schedule.

In addition, county residents interested in getting a road paved can share in the cost to move the paving project up in the priorities schedule.

Associate Commissioner Larry Bock said the policy not only will permit paving projects to move up on the schedule, but "will also make our money go further."

In the past, decisions on which roads to pave have been based almost exclusively on traffic counts, explained Bock. Cooperation from property owners along the roads also played a part in the decision. When property owners are cooperative and organized, it makes the process easier, he said.

Until now the county didn't have a written policy.

"We needed something written down for landowners to go by and for us to go by," Bock said.

The policy spells out what information, rights of way and easements are needed to get a paving project on the list for consideration.

Residents may petition the commission to consider paving a section of road. The petition should include the starting and ending points of the section to be paved, rights of way and agreement of all property owners along the stretch.

The county won't pave islands, but any road maintained by the county is eligible for pavement.

The county maintains about 420 miles of roads of which 76 miles are paved. Each year a few miles are paved.

Paving gravel roads can be costly: In 1998, the county paved 7.52 miles at a cost of $396,790, or $52,763 a mile.

Bock said the county will continue to pave roads for safety or financial reasons.

Subdivision developers may want to have county roads paved as a way to increase sales or property values, said Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones.