The number of dirt roads in the city of Rincon is expected to dwindle after council members approved a bid at their meeting Monday night.

Council OK’d a bid of $197,785 from Clifton Construction Company for a street paving project that will include Byrd Street, Savannah Avenue, Chatham Avenue, Middleton Street, Middleground Road and Old Middleground Road. 

 

“All those are dirt roads that are going to be brought up,” said Tim Baumgartner of EMC Engineering.

 

The city also has questions about some of those roads, namely, who owns them. Council members wondered how much of the road belonged to the city and how much belonged to the railroad in some cases.

 

Baumgartner said surveys were conducted during the preparation of the bid documents, but council members also asked that title searches be conducted on roads in question.

 

“I would feel more comfortable that we took every step we needed to,” said Council member Ann Daniel.

 

“Before we give the notice to proceed, we’ll make sure they have the right roads,” city attorney Raymond Dickey said. 

 

Council members also wondered if they were following established city guidelines, particularly on the width of the roads being paved. The roads will have open ditches and not curb and gutter.

 

“This is a scenario (with) specific items we are not choosing to go by our own guidelines,” said Council member Paul Wendelken. “It’s pretty much been our policy we don’t allow open ditches anymore. The more open ditches we do away with, maybe the fewer drainage problems we’ll have.”

 

Wendelken also said the reason some of the roads haven’t been paved is because the city didn’t have the needed area.

 

But city public works director Tim Bowles said putting curb and gutter on those roads would put the budget “out the door.” He said the city will look at the grades and match the ditches up the best it can.

 

Baumgartner said that when they met with the contractors interested in the project, they started looking at what could be done in a practical fashion.

 

While the city requires curb and gutter for new development, Bowles said the road paving is the improvement of an existing condition and not a new development.

 

Council members also approved $13,500 for scope of services and fees for EMC Engineering to complete designs and cost estimates for road and drainage improvements for Fort Howard Road from Highway 21 to the city limits. Baumgartner said they will see if it makes sense to three-lane the road.

 

Council member Reese Browher said he didn’t want to continue to evaluate the road for five years while sections of it continue to deteriorate.

 

“It’s pretty rough from 21 to just past Lost Plantation,” he said.