By Chris Wilson

Fort Clarke Forest, the 85-home development located at the intersection of SW 91st St. and SW 1st Pl., will be a lot smoother to drive through, after Alachua County finishes repaving all of the roads through the neighborhood.

The project began in mid-November and county officials expect crews to be finished laying the new pavement by the second or third week of December.

“That project has been on our list for a while,” says Alachua County senior engineering technician Chris Zeigler. “The Board of County Commissioners approved the bond for the project in 2006. It’s part of a $33-million bond issue.”

Zeigler says the Fort Clarke Forest portion of the repaving project, which includes a mile-and-a-half of paved roads, comes with an estimated cost of $200,000. “The cost of some of the materials has increased quite a bit since the project was approved,” he explains. “But, we’ve managed to balance that out by using in-house crews to do the work.”

For more information, contact Zeigler through e-mail (czeigler@alachuacounty.us) or by calling 374-5245 ext. 271.