Bryan County road crews were busy this week completing a project on Folsom Road that’s been in the works for more than a year.

Workers chipped and sealed the one-mile stretch of Folsom Road between Wilson and 49th streets, a process that includes placing a thick coat of oil on the road, followed by rock, oil and more rock.

District No. 1 County Commissioner Monty Montgomery said 13 pieces of equipment and 15 employees from all three districts helped in the final stages of the project Tuesday.

Previously, the road was made of gravel and sand.

County workers hauled more than 500 tons of rock from the road earlier in the project. Crews also built the one-mile stretch of road up six inches, he said.

The road construction began in April 2008 with an estimated cost of $200,000 or $250,000, Montgomery said.

Because of increased material costs, the total for the project will be a little more than $300,000. This cost includes fuel, labor, equipment and materials.

The project was funded by a Rural Economic Action Plan grant, private donations and county funds.

The commissioners approved the project in Fall 2007 after Folsom Road residents requested that improvements be made to the street.

“They did they’re part, and now we’ve done ours,” Montgomery said.

The three districts come together to complete major projects such as the one at Folsom Road, he said. Also, many stages of road work have to be completed between May and October, during the warm weather season.

“I want to thank the people who live in the area for being patient. We hope they appreciate and enjoy their new road,” Montgomery said regarding residents on Folsom Road.

However, residents of Folsom Road aren’t the only ones whose road is getting repaired. Montgomery said District No. 1 has five other road projects.

Thanks to funding from the Choctaw Nation, 1 3/4 miles on Orchard Road, from Kale Switch to Fisher Station Road, will be asphalted. Montgomery said the $1.6 million project should be finished within the next month.

Another big project is an asphalted road on a two-mile stretch of Leavenworth Trail, near Mead, off Highway 70 S. The repaired road, funded by a federal grant, will cost $1.8 million. The road has been striped and should be finished next month, he said.

Projects backed partly by county funds include the following:

• Chipping and sealing a 1 1/4-mile stretch of road on West Sixth, East Fourth, Oak and Hickory streets in Silo — a $150,000-plus project funded by a $70,000 Silo grant — to be finished next week

• Chipping and sealing a half-mile stretch of Kolten Road — a $35,000 project funded by donations — to be completed the first week of August

• Chipping and sealing five miles of Platter Road, from Leavenworth Trail south and west to Vernon Road — a $350,000-plus project funded by $50,000 from the Chickasaw Nation and a $75,000 Community Development Block Grant — to be completed by the end of October

Most districts usually are able to accomplish three road projects during a warm weather season, but District No. 1 was able to do six because two of them — Orchard Road and Leavenworth Trail — were contracted, Montgomery said. Only four roads are being repaired using county equipment and labor.

The federal grant application process for the Leavenworth Trail repairs was highly competitive, and areas can only apply every four years, he said. The commissioners have already applied for a 2012 grant to asphalt two more miles on Leavenworth Trail, which would be a $1 million project.

Montgomery said the Chickasaw Nation also plans on completing a three-mile stretch of Leavenworth Trail once they receive federal stimulus money.

Two other District No. 1 projects are planned for next year.

A two-mile stretch of Sawmill Road, south of Armstrong, will be asphalted and widened, beginning in January 2010. Currently, workers are moving utility lines, power poles, trees and fences in preparation for the road work, Montgomery said.

The $3 million project, funded by the Choctaw Nation, includes a new railroad crossing at Armstrong that will cost $350,000, he said.

Road construction will also be done on Mockingbird Lane, from Wilson to Silo roads, the first of 2010. The project will cost approximately $200,000. Shoulder and ditch work is currently being done in preparation, Montgomery said.