Just as asphalt overlay work is being completed in the Galatia area, the Barton County Road and Bridge Department has plans to keep up its campaign to tackle over 100 miles of county blacktops this year, Road and Bridge Director Dale Phillips said.

All staff is assigned to sand/chip sealing operations which began Tuesday, he said, adding it involves asphalt sealing of 107 miles of the 398 miles the county maintains. The work is taking place in the north central and northwest parts of the county and will take approximately three weeks to complete.

In 2015 the Road and Bridge Department applied $813,075.81 worth of materials to seal 75 miles of roads. However, this year the cost for the 100-plus miles is about the same because the cost for sealing oil is lower due to cheaper oil prices.

This isn’t the first step, Phillips said. Over 25,000 tons of asphalt has been laid on an estimated 45-50 miles of road before asphalt sealing began.

Additional asphalt work is being planned in October and November.