The Warren County Commission has selected five roads for paving this year, but the county needs easements on three of them before any work can occur. Commissioners plan on resurfacing five miles of pavement in 2011. So far they have obtained all of the necessary easements for Royal Drive and Shepherd Glen only, which combined amounts to less than two miles long. They have yet to receive all the easements from property owners on Shetland, South Rock Church and Pendleton Cut-Off. Those amount to around three miles of roads to be resurfaced. "Those are the roads we hope to get done," Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage said. "We started prepping them last year. But it seems like interest has died a little bit." The county anticipates earning $821,800 in 2011, the first full year the county will receive funds from the half-cent capital improvement sales tax. When county voters extended the tax in February 2008, they approved 70 percent of the sales tax revenue being allocated for road maintenance with the remaining 30 percent going for capital projects. The sales tax extension went into effect July 1, 2010, and the county earned approximately $400,000 through the end of the year. The county used the funds collected last year to pave Schreckengast, Town Branch Road and Bluff Road. Landowners along Schreckengast and Town Branch contributed to the project to offset some of the expense. The county is seeking cooperation from property owners to obtain an additional 10-foot easement on each side of the road. County policy requires a 60-foot-wide easement for roads. Since some property owners have been reluctant to grant easements, commissioners said those may be pushed back on the paving schedule. They pointed out that the county has been fielding inquiries from others interested in having their roads paved. Some of the other roads the county continues to work on getting easements for include Township Line Road, Stracks Church Road and North Stringtown Road. In addition, commissioners also want to start prepping others roads so they can be paved in 2012. They estimated five to six miles of county roads will be identified for prepping. "It's hard to get people united on one road," Southern District Commissioner Hubie Kluesner said. As part of the county road and bridge fund budget approved last week, the county projected spending at $3,552,471, while estimating revenues at $2,918,144. The county had $1,663,428.16 in available cash to begin the year for the fund. In 2010, $2,053,721.31 was spent from the county road and bridge fund, while $2,237,559.70 in revenue was received. The county spent $1,501,952.05 in 2009 and collected $1,678.656.09 in revenue. Along with the regular maintenance of county roads, the county intends to overlay approximately two miles on South Lohman Road. "We will work aggressively to maintain the roads to the best of our abilities," Kluesner said. One road that won't be paved is the controversial Augusta Bottom Road. Kluesner said the county will continue to maintain the road, located in southern Warren County, as a gravel road and will attempt to enforce the 30 mph speed limit to slow motorists. Augusta Bottom Road has gained much attention in the past three months following a fatal car crash that has led many to criticize the commission for what they feel is a lack of maintenance of the road. The county also has allocated funds this year to replace a bridge on Powerline Road and finish the construction of a bridge on Bernheimer Road, a project currently under way. The Powerline Road bridge is estimated to cost around $450,000 overall, of which $400,000 is for construction, $29,000 for construction engineering and $19,400 in engineering. The county has appropriated $167,000 to finish the bridge on Bernheimer Road. The county may also look to start construction of another bridge, which has yet to be identified. Also included in the road and bridge budget are funds for a 1-ton pickup truck and skid loader for the road department. Commissioners also said they plan on trying to use available funds to upgrade bridges that were on the county's deficient list, which was updated last year by a MoDOT inspector.