GALLIPOLIS — Looking to tap into the economic recovery bill signed into law last week, the Gallia County Engineer’s Office recently submitted 22 potential projects for inclusion to the tune of more than $270 million.

According to County Engineer Brett Boothe, every single project that has been submitted is needed for Gallia, from a new maintenance complex to paving every gravel road in the county.

“We’re not sure how much money will be appropriated to rural areas, but we need every project that has been submitted,” Boothe said.

He added that the list is mainly composed of shovel-ready projects that his office could have out within 30 days if funding is made available.

Of the nearly $800 billion that has been appropriated through the economic recovery bill, $30 billion has been set aside for roads and Ohio may be granted up to $2.5 billion.

The most expensive project submitted by the engineer’s office is estimated to cost over $104 million and calls for the resurfacing of all county roads. Also included in this project is the proposed paving or chipping and sealing of all county roads that are currently gravel, which consists of about 136 miles of roadway. This project was also submitted on its own based on the importance to taxpayers traveling those roads and the resulting savings to the engineer’s office.

Boothe said that $515,000 was spent last year to purchase stone and another $570,000 was spent on dust control for those gravel roads. In addition, the county has five graders whose operators work hard during the spring, summer and fall to maintain gravel roads only to start all over again after winter takes its toll.

“We’ve got to be proactive rather than reactive,” Boothe said. “If we can get roads chipped or paved then we can save on gravel and work out a cycle to maintain our paved roads with that money.”

Other projects proposed include widening Centenary and Hannan Trace roads to make them safer for people traveling to and from the new Gallia Academy and South Gallia high schools, replacing deficient bridges, culverts, and pavement, raising roads and bridges that flood, constructing a Gallipolis outerbelt, unrelated to the Farm Road project, that connects to U.S. 35, updating guardrails, striping, signs, and posts on county roads, finishing the GIS tax maps, replacing deficient tractors, mowers, trucks and wheeled excavators, and constructing a new maintenance complex that would include a new engineer’s office, garage, salt bin and storage shed.

Boothe is optimistic about these projects and says he stands behind all of them “100 percent.”

“There is a lot that needs to be done, but we’re going to prioritize our top objectives and work our way down,” he said.