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$15 million road resurfacing projects underway in Macon-Bibb County

Commissioners voted early this year to start spending more on road resurfacing and striping. They use their general fund, state grants and SPLOST money to fund it.

MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb County says they're well on their way to resurfacing many of the county's worst roads by 2025.

Commissioners decided in February to start spending more money on road fixes and speed up ongoing projects. County Spokesman Chris Floore says crews have gone out the last couple of months to start $15 million worth of work on the worst-rated roads.

Macon-Bibb Commissioner Raymond Wilder says a portion of Rogers Road near Lizella was once one of the worst in the county, but now, it's one of the first to get resurfaced. 

On Wednesday, county crews resurfaced part of the road near Sheila Watruba's house.

"When big trucks come, dump trucks go by, it shakes the entire house. It'll wake you up when the trucks hit the hole. So, it was really bad," Watruba said.

Her husband reached out to Wilder with worries about the road. Wilder says he got complaints for months.

"I can't go to church, the grocery store, or a restaurant without somebody tackling me about Rogers Road," Wilder said.

The persistence paid off. He believes the complaints helped drive the county toward deciding to spend more money on roads.

"We are aggressively trying to get a handle on it and get more done from this point forward," Wilder said.

The county taps into three different sources to cover the cost. 

They use the county's general fund, state grants through the Local Maintenance Improvement Grant and SPLOST money. 

The county decides which roads to fix based on a recent road survey. Roads were rated one to five, best to worst.

Watruba says all her neighbors are grateful, but she's noticed some speeding she hopes is just from excitement.

"Everybody that lived out here knew about the big holes in the road, so they slowed down. But now, people seem to be able to go at their own speed now," she said.

This week, commissioners approved another $3 million worth of road fixes including portions of Riggins Mill Road and Churchill Street. 

Mayor Lester Miller said in February they plan to have most of the worst-rated roads finished by 2025.

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