Scott County commissioners tour damaged county roads

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County's roads are in not too bad a condition but still need a lot of repairs.

Scott County commissioners toured about half of the county's roads with county highway department superintendent Norman Brant during their regular meeting Tuesday.

"I think the deterioration was pretty eye-opening," Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said following the tour. "I guess the ice storm had a pretty good impact on that."

Burger said roads in areas of the county with softer ground were not as bad as he expected. On the other hand, he added, "I think we're seeing a lot of potholes where we haven't seen them before. There are more potholes than I expected."

Commissioners will tour the remaining roads in the near future, according to Burger, after which they will compare the amount budgeted for roads this year with how much road work is needed.

There is $400,000 budgeted for road repairs, Burger said.

"We have a lot of repair work to do this summer," he said. "We're definitely going to put $400,000 in materials on the roads. That doesn't include any labor or oil."