County engineer Tony Wearren informed the commission during a meeting on Feb. 26 that the plan is to embark on the next county road project by the early part of May.

The estimated cost of the project is $880,000 and will span two miles including sections of Bell Lane Road (County Road 81), Yellow Leaf Road (County Road 13) and New Harmony Road.

According to Wearren, 20 percent of the traffic along the route was considered to be from trucks.

Due to the amount of truck traffic, the project will focus on widening the road and applying much thicker asphalt.

Pipes will also have to be replaced underneath the road surface.

“We’re talking about $440,000 per mile to pave a road,” Commissioner Joseph Parnell said.

Parnell used the current project along I-65 as another example of the drastic costs involved with road improvement.

According to Parnell, the interstate project costs roughly $16 million per mile.

“The cost of business has outrun our revenue habit,” Commissioner Steve Langston said.

The Commission also agreed on a resolution to help pay for the installation of equipment by the Sheriff’s Office in five new patrol vehicles.

It was approved to cap the money toward the equipment at $20,000 or less if half of the total amount suited such.

In other news from the meeting:

• Sunshine Store No. 4’s alcohol license application was approved to be sent to the state licensing board.
• Stacy Adams with the Alabama Department of Public Health was new to the county and introduced herself to the commissioners.
• Renee Helms was hired as clerk at the road department.
• William Collum was hired as part time with Chilton County Transit to fill a vacancy.
• Lisa Naughton was hired as part time with Chilton County Transit to fill a vacancy.
• The commission approved a resolution to go with Marion Bank and Trust in the financing of the county’s motor graders.
• The commission approved continuing to finance the county’s dump trucks with Peoples Southern Bank.
• An executive session was called by county attorney Fletcher Green to discuss “pending and potentially threatening legal matters.”
• The commission approved the minutes from the Feb. 12 meeting.
• The commission approved to pay its bills.