Residents in District 1 of Lamar County should be receiving a letter via mail this week regarding road work that will take place on Lincoln Road Extension in the stretch from Oak Grove Road to Lamar Boulevard.
District 1 Supervisor Steve Lampton sent the letters out May 21 to let citizens know about the upcoming work, which will expand the roadway to add turn lanes in heavily-trafficked areas.
"We're in the initial phase of getting ready to go out and get appraisals," Lamar County Administrator Jody Waits said. "So the letter will go out informing those citizens that project is continuing to develop, and they may have people on their property, or come see them about appraising them. It's outlying the process to be done."
Typically, county officials would hold a community meeting in which officials bring in maps, diagrams and the like to show the public the scope of the project.
Attendees would then be allowed to ask any question or address any concerns at that time.
"But given COVID-19, it's safer to just send the letter and answer the questions one-on-one," Waits said. "Then subsequent to that, the appraisers will send out letters that will have information as far as the appraisal and acquisition status."
This particular project is Phase II of a larger Lincoln Road project, with Phase I widening U.S. 98 to Lamar Boulevard.
"We've finished the right-of-way acquisition on that first phase, and we're getting close to the construction phase, actually moving utilities. So Phase II will be (Lincoln Road) from Lamar Boulevard to Oak Grove Road. And so we're nearing into the right-of-way acquisition for that phase, so the letter is just letting the property owners along that route that we'll marking the right-of-way and then appraising that, and getting with them to try to acquire that right-of-way for the expansion of Lincoln Road," Waits said.
