DESOTO COUNTY, MS (abc24.com) - DeSoto County is upgrading three roads. The project is the county's version of the old saying, "a stitch in time saves nine."
Construction will likely start next month. The roads aren't in terrible shape, but the county's getting started while the getting's good.
"It's a great deal, a very good deal," says Andy Swims, interim road manager.
It's not every day you're handed a million dollars, but that's what DeSoto County is getting from the state for road repairs.
"It's somewhere between four or five miles of roadwork, I believe, so it's not a tremendous amount, but it's going to be a big push for us," says Swims.
Swims says drivers traveling through the northern part of the county may want to avoid three roads. Sections of Desoto, Fogg and Church Roads are all being repaved
"We'll start construction on those. They're in some of the higher traffic areas we have. They're not in terrible shape, but they have some problems. We think this is going to be a good way to keep them maintained and safe for the public."
With heavy trucks and lots of traffic, parts of the asphalt show wear and tear, along with cracking. DeSoto's repaving now so it doesn't get worse.
"We don't want them to get to where we have some major problems. We try to keep them on a routine to where we can get them overlaid and keep them in good shape," Swims tells abc24.com. "Some of them have a lot of traffic from time to time, but we think we can adjust the overlay schedules to have as least impact on the public as we can.
Construction will take about a month and a half before it's completed.
