Hempstead County Road Department Upgrades County Road 217

By Staff, 09/28/20 5:32 PM

The Hempstead County Road Department has recently done some extensive work on county road 217 and there’s more to come.  According to Road Superintendent Richard Kidd, the crew has worked on several spots that had fallen apart.  “They had a good base but they were just rough on top, cracking.  We’re been patching holes with hot mix and we’ve done gone half mile if you put all the improvements together,” said Kidd.  “We’ve still got a lot to do…hopefully we can get it done this week because we’ve got other places we’re going to…so hopefully we can finish up what we can here…and we’re going to get it yellow-lined striped and put our “buttons” down, and that should make it a lot better…I’m hoping,” according to Kidd.  He described the road as “pretty rough, places falling apart and sliding off”.  He said he remembered it had been that way for several years and feels they’ve made a “pretty good difference”.  Kidd also credits County Judge Jerry Crane for giving them the equipment and letting them make them improvements.

Judge Crane said the state recommends the county to keep the roads up and he credits Richard Kidd’s experience with the state in keeping up and patching roads.  The Judge says safety is the number one goal and he said more roads are slated for work.  He also credited the quorum court for restoring some of the budget they trimmed when the COVID scare first hit.  Judge Crane says they plan to work on bridges, roads, trying to keep the gravel roads up and are evening cleaning and remodelng the county shop.  The Judge says they are trying to be there for the people and get the repairs done.

Motorists have been quite complimentary on the work done on county road 217.  One unnamed motorist said “it’s a lot better than US 371″…