By BRIAN HODGE

  At long last many residents that live on the unpaved portion of Mercer Road will be glad to know that the road will soon be resurfaced with asphalt. At their meeting this week the Elmore County Commission gave approval to pave the road.
  Larry and Diane Liveoak say that they and their daughter will be breathing easier both figuratively and literally. The Liveoak’s daughter, Amy, has a medical condition that makes breathing abnormally difficult especially under unfavorable conditions.
  “We can’t even let our daughter sit outside especially with this drought we’ve got; it’s hard even for me to breathe under those conditions,” Liveoak said.
  Other neighbors that live on Mercer Road also complain that their property is covered in a thick layer of dirt.
  Elmore County Commission Chairman Joe Faulk says that Mercer Road has been on the radar for the county commission for a long time.
  “The process of getting this road paved has been going on even since the previous commission. So this is good to see that we have finally made it work and have taken steps to pave this road. This is really in the public’s best interest,” Faulk said.
  The county commission approves and funds road resurfacing projects in a variety of ways. Most of the road maintenance projects in the county are funded through a tax imposed on gasoline.
    The county also places a portion of funds that it receives from property tax into a special “road and bridge fund” which it divides more or less evenly among commissioners to take care of projects in their districts that are not addressed by the
regular process. Additionally some projects are approved and funded on a case by case basis, as is the case with Mercer Road.
  Faulk explained that the county has recently adopted a dirt road policy that accelerates the process of getting a dirt road paved in these special cases.
    He explained that after a consensus is reached with property owners that the road needs to be paved, commission can look for funding to make it happen.
  “Our dirt road policy basically states that if residents want to expedite the process on getting a dirt road paved, that the go to their neighbors and get everybody to sign off their right of way in front of their property. The state requires a 60 foot right of way from the centerline of the road. Once we’ve got signatures from every resident on the right of way we put it on the list and start looking for a way to fund it,” Faulk explained.