Thanks to the award of a competitive state grant, the Pike County Road Department will begin construction in about a month on the resurfacing of three county roads.

County Roads 2259 and 2270, both in the Springhill community, and County Road 3341 in Tarentum, will be resurfaced as part of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs’ Community Development Block Grant.

“These grants are very competitive,” said County Engineer Russell Oliver. “We did get one in 2007, and we applied for this one in 2009 and were not funded, and so we reapplied in 2010, and it was funded.”

The $400,000 grant will also go toward paving County Road 5521, though construction won’t start just as soon.

The Pike County Commission approved bids for the resurfacing portion of the project in its meeting Monday night, awarding to low bidder APAC Midsouth, of Dothan, at $326,000.

Collectively, the project is estimated to cost $922,540. Oliver said some of the county’s portion of the cost will be offset by the road department using its own employees and equipment on some of the work. About $193,500 will come from county funds.

“The commission had to plan for that before they could seriously apply for the grant … so we’ll be able to cover that,” Oliver said.

Currently, Oliver said road department employees are working on making preparations to pave County Road 5521, an example of this “in-kind matching.”

“We have to acquire right of way and clear where the road will be built,” Oliver said. “It will be close to the size of the current road but it will have to be widened a little and realigned.”

Oliver said these roads are in great need of work.

“They are very much in need of work. We are very pleased and very excited to get this grant,” Oliver said. “I know the citizens that live on these roadways and drive on these roadways are very happy about this.”