Long County Commissioners Mike Riddle and Robert Parker met March 23 with Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry at the GDOT headquarters in Atlanta.

The meeting, which focused on how GDOT could continue to help fund improvements to Long County, was organized by GDOT District 1 Secretary Ann Purcell, who also attended the meeting.

Current projects already approved for special funding include $200,000 dollars for road improvements at the new combination school being built on Highway 84 and $100,000 for a sidewalk on South McDonald Street currently under construction.

Parker and Riddle both expressed gratitude to McMurry for these funds and said without GDOT’s help, projects like these would not be possible.

“The sidewalk being built now is a perfect example – if we did not have that $100,000 dollars from GDOT, we would not have been able to do this project,” Riddle said. “And the good thing is that it benefits the county, the city and kids at the schools.”

Riddle and Parker also gave McMurry a report on how Local Maintenance Improvement Grant funds had been used last year and how they were slated to be used in the future.

They reported that the Long County Board of Commissioners had approved a short-term and long-term plan with Elim Church Road being resurfaced in 2017, Rye Patch Road scheduled for 2018 and Joe Kennedy Road scheduled for 2019.

They said at least nine other county roads were on the long-term plan to be designated in the future.

McMurry praised Long County for having a plan.

 “It’s good to know that you are being proactive and have a plan for your projects. That’s what we like to hear,” McMurry said.