Drivers on Crowell and Jack Neely roads will need to watch their speed during the school year as the Newton County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to make portion of those roads an official school zone.

The portions of the roads near the new Newton High School, which is opening for the fall semester, will be designated school zones, which will drop their speed limits from 45 mph to 35 mph in those areas, county engineer Tom Garrett said.

The Board of Commissioners honored the request from the Newton County Board of Education. Current stop signs will be altered to also show the reduced school hours speed limits and have flashing beacons.

More paving

projects

In other road news, bids for the county’s summer paving road work came in under bid allowing the county to pave three additional roads: Mote Circle and Cowan and Butler Bridge roads.

Each project costs the county 30 percent of the cost, with the state paying the additional 70 percent. By adding the three roads, Garrett said the county would be fully using the money the state gave to Newton County. County money is coming from 2011 SPLOST.

The cost of the three added roads is $54,627, bringing the total cost of nine road projects up to $1.1 million. The state will pay $846,495 through the Local Maintenance and        Improvement Grant program, while the county will pay the remaining $253,955.

Mote Circle essentially will be remade, as the entire road will be reclaimed and a new road will be put back down. Mote Circle is located off of Mote Road, which runs between Ga. Highway 162 and Lower River Road. The 0.14 miles of work will cost $18,856.

Cowan Road will be patched from Oak Hill Road to Ga. Highway 81 for a cost of $18,253.

Butler Bridge Road will also be patched from Ga. Highway 212 to where the paved portion of the road ends — 1.63 miles — for a cost of $17,517.