There’s a lot of road work heading Effingham’s way.

County commissioners approved a $2.1 million contract for Everett Dykes Grassing to put chip and seal on 52 miles of county road. Work on the roads has to begin soon and end soon because warm weather is needed for the process to take hold. Everett Dykes Grassing has agreed to finish the work in 90 days.

North Florida Emulsions of Palatka, Fla., bid $2.7 million estimated 180 days to finish the work. Blount Construction of Marietta submitted a $6.2 million bid and estimated it would take 140 days to finish.

There are approximately 153 ash roads in the county that will be treated with chip and seal.

Several other projects are in the state transportation improvement plan pipeline. Guyton’s Rails to Trails project is receiving $600,000 in federal money and is planned to be under construction in the state Department of Transportation’s fiscal year 2008 plans.

The four-lane Effingham Parkway, to run from Highway 119 to Highway 30 in Chatham County, has $4.25 million earmarked for engineering next year. Another $5.9 million  is budgeted for right-of-way acquisition, but construction isn’t scheduled to start until 2011 at the earliest.

Also on that timeline is the Laurel Street bypass in Springfield to take tractor-trailers off that road and away from the heart of Springfield. Federal and state funding for engineering this year is $170,000.

Engineering and construction on a warning signal at the railroad crossing at Marion Avenue is expected to take place as part of this year’s STIP, as will improvements to the intersection of McCall Road and Highway 21 near Rincon.

Improvements to the intersection of Highways 21 and 275 also are included in the STIP, with $1.2 million for right-of-way acquisition and another $656,000 in construction.

Another $595,000 in federal and state money will go toward improvements at the intersection of Highway 21 and 9th Street in Rincon.