Three county roads have been slated to be paved this year now that a continuation of a half-cent sales tax is dedicated for road upgrades.

Work is expected to begin soon on Schreckengast Road and South Lohman Roads after Warren county commission awarded paving bids for both on Monday. Bluff Road is expected to go out for bid in a couple of weeks, commissioners said, and will also be completed in the fall.

 Commissioners also said progress has been made on obtaining easements needed to improve some county roads after initial objections from a few reluctant property owners. While most owners support a switch to pavement, some have been reluctant for a variety of reasons, such as concerns that a paved road may lead to more traffic and speeding motorists.

The objections have forced the county to look at other roads that could be paved sooner with cooperating property owners.

“We are steadily gaining,” Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said. “It just takes time.”

On Monday, the commission awarded the asphalt overlay bid to Pace Construction Company. Schreckengast Road will cost $67,100, while the South Lohman expense is $80,260.

The asphalt price was broken down to $53 and $54 per ton for both roads.

The only other bid was submitted by Mid River Asphalt, Inc. The company priced asphalt at $62.87 per ton for South Lohman Road and $58.57 for Schreckengast Road.

The overall estimated cost to reconstruct and pave Schreckengast Road is $125,000. Half of that expense will be shared with Carl Bolm, owner of Cedar Lake Farm. He initiated the road upgrade to coincide with the opening of a winery, Cedar Lake Cellars.

For 2011, the roads that are expected to be paved include Royal Drive, Shepherd Glen, Shetland, South Rock Church and Stringtown between Cotton Road and Highway WW.

The commissioners said they have all the easements needed for Royal Drive and Shepherd Glen and are close to obtaining the others.

Beginning July 1, 70 percent of sales tax receipts now go toward road maintenance, while the remaining 30 percent is allocated for capital improvements. The continuation of the half-cent sales tax was approved by voters in February 2008.

County officials are projecting the sales tax to generate $400,000 in the remaining six months in 2010 and $800,000 in 2011.

Based on current figures, it will cost $120,000 to pave a mile, according to the commissioners.

Roof Replacement Begins at Courthouse

A project to replace the courthouse roof began Monday and is expected to be completed by the end of next week.

Crews from Cardinal Roofing began removing rock Monday and Tuesday and are expected to complete the majority of the work this week.

The project is going to cost the county $109,250. The county allocated $100,000 for a new roof in this year’s budget. Along with having extra insulation that should lead to a decrease in heating and cooling expense, the new roof has a 15-year warranty and will be inspected annually.

The current roof is 13 years old, the same one that was in place when the courthouse opened in 1997. The commissioners previously said they believe the current roof was intended to have a lifespan of seven years.

County Adds Maintenance Worker

The county added an employee in the maintenance department when the commission approved the hiring of Clayton Whaley last week.

Whaley’s hiring was approved in a closed session vote held Aug. 17. The expense of employing Whaley will be covered by the Missouri Summer Jobs program, designed to help provide teenagers jobs statewide.

The job initiative is being funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.