Pike County commissioners have cleared the way for the road department to make improvements to some of the county’s farm-to-market roads.

County Roads 1107, 2201, 6602, 1101 and 3306 are all on the list of roads slated for improvements, said Russell Oliver, county engineer.

While it is costly to resurface worn roads, Oliver said the money would be provided by federal aid funds.

“These are federal aid projects using the federal funds that are allocated to the counties annually by the Alabama Department of Transportation,” Oliver said. “At this stage, estimates won’t be refined until specific items of work are decided upon by ALDOT and Pike County.”

Oliver said the projects should start sometime next spring, but as the funding became available the road department hoped to do more.

“As funding becomes available, we hope to be able to do more resurfacing (both rehabilitation/restoration and preventive), bridge rehabilitation, bridge replacement, and safety enhancements,” Oliver said.

While those particular county roads have been put on a higher priority list than some of the other roads in Pike County, Oliver said the road department is aware of poor of shape of many county roads.

“The citizens of Pike County deserve and expect a safe and efficient transportation system, and it is our desire and duty to do all that we can to deliver the same,” Oliver said. “With extremely limited resources, priorities must be set that result in the most efficient use of the resources.”

Because the projects aren’t set to start until 2016, Oliver said he hoped Pike County residents would bear with the road department through the long process.

“Federal aid project development is inherently a long, step-by-step process with much that has to be accomplished ‘behind the scenes,’” Oliver said. “Therefore, these projects call for patience.”