Oconee to look at speeding up road repairs

It’s taking too long for the county to repair weather-damaged roads, District 2 County Councilmember Wayne McCall said Tuesday, and he wants to see the work done faster. His ideal, McCall said, is that within 30 days of a road or bridge being damaged, the bids for repairs are in and the work ready to start. Some Oconee County roads are still out of use due to heavy rains as far back as April. One of those, Duck Pond Road, according to McCall, had occasioned a call from a constituent that would have made a naval chief petty officer blush. McCall also cited concerns that the rerouting of dump trucks from the county rock quarry by James M. Brown Elementary School due to the damaged road could create additional hazards for the school-related traffic. According to County administrator Amanda Brock potential bidders often need time to nail down specifications and prices so that bids will be accurate. The engineering on some of the roads has been slow, according to Brock, because the roads were poorly engineered in the first place. Nevertheless, the county will look at ways to streamline the repair process. Suggestions are expected by the next scheduled meeting of the Council’s Transportation Committee on September 17.