People get ready to cast their votes in Smith County.

Voters overwhelmingly passed the $45 million Smith County Road Bond in Tuesday’s election, with 10,721 people (62.4%) voting for the bond, according to unofficial election results.

“I see the vote of approval as an endorsement by the citizens of Smith County that they like the work we have done on the roads and bridges over the last three years and they want us to continue that progress at the same rate of speed and with the same quality and value that we’ve done in the last three years,” County Judge Nathaniel Moran said.

The first phase of the project, which was $39.5 million, was passed in 2017, with 73% of voter support, and will have improved around 200 miles of roads by 2022, according to the county.

The second phase will improve 283 more miles of roads over the next several years, making for an estimated total of 483 miles of roads completed by the end of both phases.

“The Smith County Road and Bridge Department is appreciative of the citizen approval of bond funding for road improvements,” Smith County Engineer Frank Davis said.

Precinct 4 Commissioner JoAnne Hampton said she is looking forward to the completion of these 283 miles of roads. Having major roads completed and drivable is important, and these improvements will accomplish that, she added.

“We’re excited and we really want to thank the citizens of Smith County for putting the trust into the commissioners court to do exactly what we said we were going to do,” Hampton said.

Both phases are part of a two-phase, six-year road and bridge project, according to the county. Phase 1 projects will continue into the first half of 2022 and Phase 2 will begin later the same year.

The road and bridge improvement project is expected to be completed within the next three to four years, Davis said.

While Smith County uses the bond money for these projects, the county has also been using budgeted funds and cash reserves to pay for road and bridge projects, according to the county. Doing this allows the county to continue increasing road and bridge funding annually so that bond funding will not be needed for future projects on existing roadways.

With the bond being passed, the $45 million in bonds will be sold over a three-year period beginning June 2022. Money received from the bond will be used to pay for major improvement projects to county roads and bridges over the three year period.

Both of these bonds are expected to raise the debt portion of the tax rate by 0.76 cents per $100 evaluation for fiscal year 2023. In other words, an owner of a $200,0000 home will be paying about $15 extra in property taxes annually.

To see the completed work from phase one along with planned work for both phases visit www.smith-county.com/i-want-to/view/county-road-projects.