Lawrence County Highway Department Roads

APPLIANCE REPAIR

Kelly Appliance & Vacuum 931-244-7200

AIR CONDITIONING

D.E. Hill & Son 762-9584

ASSISTED LIVING

Summit of Lawrenceburg 762-3524

AUTO REPAIR

Chapman Tire 931-829-2155
J & G Tire Center 931-762-0078

BANKS

Bank of Frankewing 762-6800
Lawrenceburg Federal Bank 931-762-7571

CINEMAS

Crockett Cinemas 931-762-6821

CLINICS

One Stop Medical 762-9797
Seven Springs Orthopaedics 244-7181

COMPUTER REPAIR

Nerd's Computer Repair

DAY SPA

The Hidden Garden 762-9799

ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING

Rick's Electrical & Plumbing 931-242-5325

ELECTRONICS

Lynn Electronics 762-0401

E CIGARETTES

Sterling Vapor 931-231-5422

FLORIST

Lawrenceburg Florist 762-3722
McKelvey's Flowers 762-4511

FUNERAL HOMES

Pettus-Turnbo Funeral Home 762-3291

FURNITURE

Green's Furniture
Swap & Shop Center

GLASS REPAIR

Lawrenceburg Glass 766-1004

HARDWARE

True Value Hardware 762-7516

HOBBY

Adventure Off Road 852-5445

INSURANCE

Aarons Insurance 931-629-8065
Baker Agency 762-4550
Markus Insurance 762-9401
Wall-Modrall Insurance 762-6528

JEWELRY

Dixon's Fine Jewelry 762-9979

LAWN CARE

Dustin's Lawncare
Dustin's Lawn Care 242-4414

MEDICAL

Seven Springs Orthopaedics 244-7181

NATURAL FOODSNature's Nuggests 762-2895

OUTDOOR

Randy's Cycle & ATV 762-2450

PARTY / SUPPLIES

The Mad Hatter's Party Wonderland 931-244-7222

PAWN

Mo's Pawn Shop 762-2529

POOLS/ SUPPLIES

Diamond Pools & Spas 762-7189

REAL ESTATE

Hood-Flora Realty 762-4247

RENTAL

Rent Right 762-8187

RESTAURANTS

Sue Sue's Sandwich Shop 762-8879

SPORTING GOODS
Fox Sporting Goods 931-766-0313

TRAVEL

First Class Charter 762-5778

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Lawrence County Highway Department Roads

If you got in your car and drove 1,066 miles from Lawrenceburg, you would arrive in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bismark, North Dakota; Montreal, Canada; or - with a bridge - Cuba or Cancun.

One thousand sixty-six miles will get you a long way from home, or only over the roads that our Highway Department is responsible for, right here in Lawrence County.

That Department takes care of not only the pavement on county roads but the bridges, tiles, guard rails, striping, signage, and right of way. Road Superintendent Donnie Joe Brown has one of the biggest jobs in county government and Lawrence County, period. The quality of his work is on display all day, every day, spread out over 617 square miles.

Donnie Joe has done a tremendous job improving and maintaining our roads. When he took office in September 1998, there were 560 dirt roads in Lawrence County; now there are 80. He has also done a great job managing funds: in 1998 there were 93 employees in his department, now there are 37. Thanks to his efforts to eliminate dirt roads, we own and maintain four road graders rather than 13.

In spite of those savings, the department struggles with a property tax share that has not changed since Donnie Joe took office. The table included here shows that the cost of raw materials, which varies with the price of oil, far outpaces the rate of inflation. The per-ton cost for rock, for instance, has almost tripled since 1998.

Adding the costs we don’t show – manpower, equipment, and fuel (another changing number) – doubles the price per mile. Those prices don’t vary, they only go up. And again, this addresses only the cost of paving, not other department responsibilities.

The bottom line is that it is very expensive to maintain our roads and everything associated with them. The Highway Department needs to not only maintain status quo, but make investments that will save us money in the long run.

The proposed 33-cent property tax increase now before Commissioners will include additional funds for our roads. I hope each of you will encourage your representative to vote in favor of that new funding. Remember, your journey of 1,066 miles begins on a Lawrence County road.

COST OF TAR/GRAVEL PER MILE

Materials only – excludes labor, equipment, fuel

1999…… $11,000

2007…….. 28,400

2011…….. 40,594

2014…….. 26,000

2015…….. 23,866

COST OF ASPHALT PER MILE

Materials only – excludes labor, equipment, fuel

1999……. $ 33,000

2007…….. 76,885

2010…….. 102,401