Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Jessamine County Fiscal Court unanimously passed last week a motion to use flex funds for road resurfacing for repair and drainage improvements on East Hickman Road.
“If fiscal court agrees with our recommendations for the flex funds, then we would like to do repairs and drainage improvements on East Hickman Road, but as always, flex funds are available under the county, so it is up to you on how you would like to do that,” Brett Blair from the district seven office said addressing the court. “If you would like to put it on the Hickman Road section, then you would vote yes to put that money back on the state routes. Otherwise, if you vote no, you can use it on your county roads.”
The funds are calculated based on a portion of the gas tax in Jessamine County, Blair said. This calculation is based on a proportion of rural population and land area for Jessamine County compared to the other 119 counties in the state.
“It looks like you have touched every little secondary road in the past few years,” Judge-Executive David West said.
Blair said Jessamine County has been resurfaced over the past decade, at least the rural secondary sections.
“Your current resurfacing cycle is 11 to 17 years,” Blair said. “We are looking for something in the 12 range, so we feel like we are on a good pace to keep up with the resurfacing demands but we do have some roads that do have some serious drainage issues.”
Blair said addressing the drainage issues would include doing some ditch work alongside the road so there will be no more standing water on the roadway. Standing water, Blair said, is a driving hazard and causes road deterioration.
Magistrate Terry Meckstroth asked if a specific section of 1267 could be worked on when it comes time for it to be resurfaced later this year.
“On 1267, there is a part that is always breaking up on the edge,” Meckstroth said. “There needs to be some shoulder work done, … it is close to Keene around that curve. You can’t miss it. It is bad.”
Blair said he will make a note to work on the section when the 1267 is addressed later this year.