In just a few months, Macon-Bibb County paved more than six times of road miles than it had each year previously. The previous annual average was only about seven miles of repaving, but under Paving the Way, 297 road segments totaling 44 miles of the worst rated or most well-traveled roads have been repaved.

“The quality of our roads is one of the most talked about daily issues people in Macon-Bibb face, so we are making an historical investment in improving roads across the entire county,” says Mayor Lester Miller.

“I’m proud of the collaborative work of our departments, partners, Commissioners, and public to identify the worst roads in the county, as well as the most well-travelled roads, so we can have the greatest positive impact on people’s daily lives,” says County Manager Dr. Keith Moffett.

Additionally, Macon-Bibb has worked directly with the Georgia Department of Transportation on it paving the roads they maintain, including Eisenhower Parkway and Mercer University Drive. So far 9.5 miles have been paved with another 23.3 miles starting in the spring and summer.

After nearly 55 miles of roads being repaved in a few months, the program will be temporarily pausing since the asphalt plants are closing December 19 for the winter months. Work will resume once the plants reopen.

“While the plants are closed, we’ll be able to take time to evaluate the program’s operation, review the progress, and begin planning for the next roads,” adds Dr. Moffett.

Roads were identified through a scan of the more than 1,100 miles of county-owned and paved roads. Every road segment was rated on a scale of 1-100, and roads were selected for this list based on the following criteria:

• Roads rated 30 and below.
• Arterial and collector roads rated below 40.
• Connecting, nearby roads rated between 30 and 55.
• Well-trafficked roads in industrial areas.

Based on that criteria, 459 roads totaling almost 130 miles were identified in August and September. Earlier in the summer, an initial 36.18 miles of road were put out for bid for paving, making the total miles of road to be repaved in this round nearly 170 miles.

“We identified the worst roads in our community and are focusing first on them, as well as roads that are heavily traveled every day,” says Mayor Miler. “There isn’t a part of our county that won’t have major improvements for daily travel.”

Funding for this work comes from the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), state Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG) funds, and the General Fund.

In the first round of Paving the Way, nearly $15 million was allocated from the general fund, SPLOST, and LMIG. The amount allocated in the first round was already nearly five times more than used in previous years. Between 2020 and now, the County repaved 45.539 miles of road.