Although Demopolis residents are probably fed up with the inconvenient traffic barriers on Highway 80, Alabama Department of Transportation District 8 Division Engineer Jerry Holt said the resurfacing project won’t be completed until mid-February, if the weather permits.

The first stage of the project began in early December, when workers started to scrape the roads in preparation of the problematic task, but the job is expected to last another month.

“We try to do most of the resurfacing in January, February and March, but sometimes a project

can carry over a little later than that,” Holt said. “It has a lot to do with the weather and when they can work.”

Holt said the ALDOT staff looks at main routes across the state in order to prioritize the resurfacing process.

“When we ride and look at the roads, we go by the condition of them. Highway 80 has a large traffic volume that carries a lot of weight and it is a national highway system route, so that carries merit too,” Holt said. “But there are a lot of different factors so there’s no simple answer.”

With seven different counties to cover, Holt said there are many roads to work on, but there isn’t enough funding to complete the jobs.

“There’s never enough money to do all that needs to be done.”