AJ Colley, Shelbyville News Staff Writer

Shelby County Commissioners approved Monday evening moving forward with a request of $900,000 in racino funds for road-paving projects.

The request will have to be approved by the Shelby County Council. Commissioners are requesting $200,000 in stone and gravel, and $700,000 in asphalt.

At the last county council meeting, Commissioner Kevin Nigh explained to council members budgetary constraints and how they were likely to affect paving projects this spring and summer. Nigh said the current budget would allow for 30 miles of road paving this year. Ideally, he said the highway department would like to keep roads on a 10-year paving cycle, which would require the county to pave 85 miles this year.

Last year, Nigh said the highway department paved 60 miles, and he said the department would like to stick with that number of miles this year. While he said the wheel tax is helping, the budget for paving is still falling short.