Starting Wednesday oil pipelines will be laid in the coming months under the right of way on five county roads. The county has accepted a bond from oil companies to pay for repairs of any damage done to county roadways and ditches by the trucks hauling the pipelines. Commissioners questioned how long they can hold on to the bond since sometimes the damage to the roads is not evident for several months. Road and Bridge Engineer Clark Slacum said the county will inspect all the roads to check for damage before any of the bond money is returned. County Attorney Doug Manning was asked if legally the county could hold the bond for several months after the initial inspection, and Manning said Orange County was one of the first counties to require a bond from oil companies to cover road repairs. The difficulty Manning added is that the county is one of the few in the state that has all of its county roads paved. The roads that could be affected are Little Cypress Road, Burton Road, Old Highway 90, Oilla Road, and Japanese Lane. The Commissioners Court has approved seeking bids to handle a soil preparation and irrigation project for the Orange County Expo Center. They also authorized using Hotel Occupancy Tax funds to pay for the landscaping project. County Judge Brint Carlton appreciates the work done by County Maintenance Director Kurt Guidry and Colin Garrett with G&G Enterprises Construction to close out the completion of the Expo Center. Carlton thanked G&G, Guidry, and Emergency Management Director Ryan Peabody for clearing up four projects on the checklist quickly in the past week at the Expo Center.
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