By LEE HINNANT

The state’s annual road repaving plan for 2006 came in under budget last week, opening the possibility for extending resurfacing efforts or taking on other roads that need new asphalt.

About 50 miles of state-maintained roads are slated for repaving in the Department of Transportation’s District 3, which encompasses Columbus and Bladen counties. Barnes Paving of Lumberton’s offer of $4.39 million was the apparent low bid on the work, budgeted at $5.2 million.

One of the bigger projects will be repaving N.C. 905 from Ward Town Road to Old Dothan Road, about 14 miles. DOT will also repave Hallsboro Road from U.S. 74-76 to the Bladen County line – about eight miles.

Drivers will also notice that on and off ramps along U.S. 74-76 will be resurfaced this year. None of the work is expected to close the roads, although there will be slowdowns from periodic lane closures. Workers are not expected to be on the job at night.

Two of the larger urban projects are in Whiteville. Franklin Street will be repaved from Madison Street to Jefferson Street. Also, Spivey Road-Warrior Trail will be repaved from Jefferson Street to Pinckney Street.

Smyrna Road is also slated for significant repaving and will be renovated from U.S. 701 past the western city limits of Whiteville to Merritt Road. Also, all of Waccamaw Shores Road at Lake Waccamaw will be repaved.

Other Columbus County projects include N.C. 904 from Shug Norris Road to Garland Cox Road; Rough ‘N Ready Road from N.C. 904 to Fair Bluff; a short stretch of U.S. 76 at N.C. 904; Old Stake Road from Sidney-Cherry Grove Road to Williams Road; Farley Road near Hallsboro Road and Delco-Prosper Road from U.S. 74-76 to Up The Branch Road.

DOT Assistant Resident Engineer Terry Church said all repaving work would use 1.5 inches of the newer, longer-lasting asphalt called Superpave. The aggregate stone in the Superpave mix is irregular and designed to lock together, rather than slide apart as round stones tend to do over time. Vibrating rollers are used to compact the mix.

Drivers should note that Old Stake Road is closed just north of Blackwell Road, near Grists. The work is scheduled to be finished March 13.

Church said it would likely be at least early April before the repaving work starts.

Although DOT has not announced a construction date, highway engineers have approved Whiteville’s longstanding request for a traffic signal at the intersection of U.S. 701 Bypass and Smyrna Road.

Traffic engineers are also working on a feasibility study examining ways to better move traffic along U.S. 701 Bypass in Whiteville.