Contractor plugging along on Old 179 project

Work on the full depth reclamation and widening of Old 179 North is underway and progress is being made, according to Grady County road superintendent Stanley Elkins.
According to Elkins, Scruggs Construction crews are continuing the construction of the new roadbed, which is being shifted to the west of the existing roadbed between Springhill Road and Cal Thomas Road. The road superintendent says the contractor also has four box culverts that must be widened in that same area.
“They are going to be in that area a good bit of time,” Elkins said.
The road superintendent had to demand the contractor reroute trucks hauling material to the construction site because he says the heavy trucks were “tearing up” Open Pond Road.
Work that county crews are going to do on the north end has not begun due to wet weather, according to Elkins. He said he is waiting on drier conditions to close the northern most section of the road to install six lines of 48-inch concrete pipe under the road, approximately half a mile from Mizpah Road.
The road superintendent, who also serves as the county’s solid waste director, also reported this week that building materials for the attendant station to be erected at the manned Beck Branch dump site will be delivered to Cairo High School this week where students in the construction class will begin constructing the building.
Elkins said that the front fence is to be moved 10 feet off the county right of way and once that is done crews will begin installing the base material inside the fenced-in area. The dump site will not be paved initially, but the base to be installed will accommodate future paving.
The county official said he has not begun interviewing applicants for the three attendant positions the county advertised for, but reported this week he has 25 applications to review.