BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — Bradford County Public Works Director Jason Dodds said he couldn’t be prouder of his road crew, which has been paving streets in excessive summer heat, pleasing both commissioners and residents.
Dodds told commissioners Aug. 17 they had just completed work on Southeast 48th Avenue, across from Walmart, and Southeast Second Avenue at the Keystone Golf and Country Club.
“Seventy-five to 80% of our staff has never paved, and I wouldn’t be afraid to take them right now and put them on I-75, I-95, I-10 right next to any of the top paving crews. So I’m very proud of them. I want to thank them for their hard work and dedication,” Dodds said.
“Paving in August, if that’s the first time you ever learned to pave, you normally don’t come back the second day,” he said.
The road department provided photographs of the work on Southeast 48th. Dodd’s said Dale Norman is shown concentrating on keeping the machine straight, while he and Ramsey French are on opposite sides of the screed. The screed controls the thickness and slope of the asphalt. A dump man monitors the amount of asphalt going down and communicates with the dump truck driver when and how much to dump.
“Jason, how hot is that asphalt when it hits the ground?” County Manager Scott Kornegay asked.
“When it’s loaded at the plant its 330 (degrees). When it’s at the screed it’s 300,” he said.
Dodds thanked commissioners as well and invited them to come see the paver in action.
The director said he found a vendor who is able to provide the amount of asphalt the county needs for paving projects moving forward.
With the support of the other public works department, solid waste and maintenance, Dodds said they are keeping three road graders and three mowers in operation at the same time as the paving projects.
Commission Chair Diane Andrews gave kudos on the mowing work in the Brooker area, and Commissioner Carolyn Spooner called the paving work on Southeast 48th “pristine.”
Commissioner Danny Riddick pointed out this is the first time a Bradford County crew has paved a road with the county’s own equipment. (Equipment was leased to construct the access road at Keystone Heights Airport, but public works was primarily responsible for the labor.)
“I just want to say, this week, I’ve been just so excited seeing all this done,” Riddick said. “This is government working at its finest.”
Riddick said the additional gas tax was passed to fund these projects, and the board’s decision to purchase the paving machine, while criticized, has been justified.
“I know every one of you, especially myself, heard this over and over, ‘We don’t need it. Nobody can run it. It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money.’ Now I’m wondering what they’re thinking,” Riddick said, adding he had full confidence in Dodds and his department.
“If you would have seen how hard these men were working this week, to learn and make the road the best they could, you’d be a believer, too,” he said.
