Commissioners Accept $512,000 Road Grant

SMITH COUNTY � Smith County Commissioners voted to accept more than $500,000 in road improvement funds from the state of Texas this week, through a TxDOT grant to aid counties with road damage caused by the oil and gas industry. The County Transportation Infrastructure Fund (CTIF) grant program was created by the state during the last legislative session to provide more than $450 million to Texas county roads.

The grant will pay for three Smith County projects which include County Roads 2142, 313 and 413 in southern Smith County. These roads were identified by the Smith County Road and Bridge Department as having sustained significant damage as a result of oil field activity. Smith County will provide $181,000, a 20% match, for the projects, which are expected to begin in October of 2014. All counties in the state of Texas were eligible for a share of $450 million approved by the Texas Legislature to address roadway damages caused by oil and gas equipment throughout the state. County officials were initially told that Smith County qualified for $430,000 in state grant funding, but due to a lack of applicants, eligible funds for Smith County later increased to $512,715.