JACKSON -- Work started Thursday on the first in a series of road improvements as part of Cape Girardeau County's new long-range road plan.

Apex Paving started paving County Road 253 between Highways A and N, and five other county roads will be paved this year, county commissioners said Thursday.

Commissioners decided last year to earmark the interest earned every year off the county's emergency fund -- approximately $240,000 -- for road improvements. They then studied traffic counts on all of the county's roads to set up a systematic approach for the paving.

County Road 253, which averages 260 to 322 cars a day, is the heaviest-travelled county road, so it is the first to be paved, said Associate Commissioner Larry Bock, who oversees the road system.

Last year commissioners received a petition with almost 400 signatures asking that County Road 253 be paved because of dust caused by traffic.

With the completion of the new Diversion Channel bridge more than two years ago, traffic has greatly increased on the road, including tractor-trailers and other heavy vehicles.

County Road 238 is scheduled to be done after Road 253.

County road crews have been busy getting the roads ready for paving, Bock said, "getting drainage and a good roadbed."

Cost of paving County Roads 253 and 238 is $73,321.

Next on the list will be County Road 533 north of Fruitland, County Road 543 east of Fruitland, and County Roads 379 and 436.

In all, 4.2 miles of county roads will be paved this year.

"We had hoped to get more than that done," said Associate Commissioner Joe Gambill, but spring weather delayed preparatory work that needed to be done.

The county went out for bids on the paving work to see whether private contractors might be able to complete the work more economically than county crews, Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones said.

Bock pointed out that county crews "have more work than they can handle" maintaining and repairing existing roads, and don't have time to build new roads.

Jones said commissioners have set up a five-year road plan, "and what we do that year gets crossed off, new roads come on and every year we always have a five-year plan."

Each year work will start with the highest priority and continue "until we run out of money" for the year, he said.

Commissioners hope to be able to complete about eight miles of paving every year, weather and funding permitting.