DECATUR — Newton County Engineer Duane Stanford came before the Newton County Board of Supervisors last week to request an additional $20,000 to pay for work done on Newton-Conehatta Road.

    Stanford said the extra money was needed to pay for the asphalt work on the road, which he said didn’t meet his expectations.

    “It wasn’t my idea to start with when they put it down, and I told them I wasn’t going to pay for it, so I put those tickets to the side,” Stanford said. “I was going to have them tear it up and redo it. but over time we decided to leave the asphalt there.”

    District 4 Supervisor Charles Godwin questioned Stanford about paying for the work.

    “Well it didn’t look good, and was wet when they put it down, and I figured it would have to be torn out, so I just put those tickets to the side,” Stanford said.

    “Once it started drying out we noticed the shoulders had settled,” he continued. “You could see the crack alongside the road where those shoulders had settled, but it was hard and could hold a truck up.

    “So, we just decided to leave it in place and just come over the top with about two more inches of asphalt. We let it drag bottom on the edge of the road and slope out. It had dropped that much so we put another lift on the guard rail.”

    Stanford said the first project is the first he’s had a cost overrun on.

    “It’s federal money and not coming out of anything we have, so that’s a good thing,” Stanford said. “It looks better than it did, and has just passed the final inspection, so it’s a done deal.”

    The board voted to pay for the work, with Godwin opposed.