County Engineer Frank Davis holds the blueprints for the new Smith County Road and Bridge Department facility. The commissioners court has authorized the purchasing director to advertise, solicit and receive bids for the security fencing of Smith County Road and Bridge Facility. The purchase will include 2,500 feet of fencing with gates at every entrance point.

The Smith County Road and Bridge Department will relocate to a new facility next year once the construction of two buildings at East Erwin Street and South Southeast Loop 323 is complete.

“We are extremely excited about this new road and bridge facility,” Smith County Judge Neal Franklin said. “I am proud to see this deserving group of dedicated employees move into such a nice, new, spacious facility. The new location is very convenient and quite an upgrade.”

The department of more than 80 employees and a heavy equipment fleet is scheduled to relocate from its current location on Claude Street by the beginning of 2024.

The entire cost for the facility was $4.3 million.

The property is located off of the East Loop 323 and offers a more centralized location for equipment operators to start and end their day, and the two large buildings on the property will better serve the staff.

The facility is double the size of the previous location. It has ample office space, conference, meeting and training space, equipment storage and shop areas to ensure it will always be able to serve a growing community.

“Right now, we’re all cramped into one big room,” County Engineer Frank Davis said. “We got one workspace shared by three different people.”

Now all the administrative employees will have their workspace. It’s also more accessible to the public, so citizens can bring complaints or get information at the office.

Renovations are expected to be completed by August before paving, fencing, and the addition of an eight-pump fueling station can begin. Davis said road and bridge employees will complete the paving themselves.

The gas and diesel fueling station will be accessible to all county vehicles in all departments.

Smith County Commissioners Court budgeted to buy the properties and begin the architectural planning and design before bidding out the construction project, and renovations began in June 2022.

According to a press release, Smith County Commissioners Court found the “perfect property” in October 2020. The county paid $2,000 per month in rent out of the county’s Capital Improvement Projects funding to pay for the property.

The Road and Bridge Department has been located on Claude Street since 1948.

Several metal buildings were used for supply maintenance from the historic Camp Fannin site, an Army infantry training center used during World War II.

“We have outgrown the property, and there is no room to expand our shops, and there is no place big enough for us to meet as a department,” Davis said. “The new facility is gonna allow for growth.”