The county's road stabilization program didn't work out as planned, but county leaders are already looking at other options.
After three months of testing, Lowndes County's road stabilization project has grounded to a halt. Turns out, this chemical treatment didn't stabilize the road as well as originally hoped.
"We don't feel like we've failed in the experiment. It didn't have the results that we were looking for, but in the process, we have found some other uses for the material," says Paige Dukes, Lowndes County Spokesperson.
Like helping stabilize road side ditches. So now, county leaders are looking at other low cost options to help improve travel along its dirt roads. Leaders say the best option is using something called triple surface.
Only upon close inspection can you see that a triple surface road is any different than a typical asphalt paved road, and county leaders say it comes at a significant cost savings and still last more than 20 years.
"We think this is going to be a fairly good alternative to paving in some of the areas that we would normally place asphalt. Commissioners want to give this an opportunity to meet the needs of those particular areas. The likelihood of this surface holding up for 20 years is very, very good," says Joe Pritchard, County Manager.
The triple surface roads will only be used on high traffic, short distance, rural roads, helping providing a smoother ride, at a significant savings for tax payers compared to using traditional asphalt.
Work to install the new triple surface roads should begin as soon as the weather dries out.
