The state approved road-paving contracts this week for the region, totaling a little more than $2.5 million.

The bulk of that money – 73 percent – will go to Scotty’s Contracting and Stone. The remainder is going to Qualified Paving of Leitchfield.

The projects in Warren County include repaving portions of Scottsville and Russellville roads. Those contracts with Scotty’s total $1,178,422.94, according to the Department of Highways, Bowling Green office.

The Russellville Road project will run from Morgantown Road to the Natcher Parkway, according to Keirsten Jaggers, public relations officer for the department’s Bowling Green office.

In addition to repaving, the contractor will install a permanent traffic counting device in the pavement on each road, Jaggers said.

The Russellville Road work should be complete by Oct. 15.

“That job will have some milling done on it because it is curb and gutter,” said Chris Proffitt, a construction engineer for the department.

A large machine (Scotty’s has Jaws painted on the side of it) will grind down the pavement, so new blacktop won’t be above the level of the curb and gutter.

Scottsville Road will be repaved from Campbell Lane to Denny’s, but the work doesn’t have to be complete until June.

“But I think the contractor made mention he wanted to do both of the projects this year,” Proffitt said.

Scottsville Road work will involve only small amounts of grinding at stoplights where the pavement is irregular from frequent breaking.

“All of the work on both jobs will be done at night” to minimize the impact on motorists, he said.

Scotty’s also was given the contract for about $500,000 for work in Allen County.

There, 1.75 miles of Fleet Road will be resurfaced from Calvert Road to Drakes Creek Bridges. Halfway Halifax Road will be resurfaced from Halfway Bailey Road to Bays Fork Bridge, a distance of 1.99 miles. About 7.33 miles of Scottsville Trammel Fork Road from the Tennessee state line to Stovall Road will be resurfaced.

Scotty’s also will add a turn lane on Ky. 100 in Simpson County at a cost of $152,603.37.

The .24-mile turn lane will be installed in front of the east industrial park near Interstate 65.

Simpson County Judge-Executive Jim Henderson said that project was needed for safety reasons at the expanding industrial park.

In Edmonson County, Qualified Paving was awarded a $256,967.70 contract to reduce the grade at the intersection of Roundhill-Brownsville Road (Ky. 187) and Ky. 70.

Qualified also received a $427,573.70 contract to resurface several roads in Butler County, including 3.67 miles of Love Lee Decker Road from Ky. 70 to Emery Road; 1.7 miles of Richeileu Road from the Logan County line to Ky. 1083; 4.43 miles of Dunbar-Leetown Road from Ky. 1153 to Ky. 70; and 2.27 miles of Dexterville Gilstrap Cut Through Road (Ky. 2269) from Indian Camp Creek Bridge to Ky. 2713.

Scotty’s submitted the only bid of $31.4 million Friday to widen Interstate 65 to six lanes from Cemetery Road to Carter-Sims Road.

“The committee will have to wait until next week to award that bid, but it looks pretty good,” Proffitt said. “There is a lot of technical stuff they have to look over before the bid is awarded.”

If the contract is approved, Scotty’s would have until November 2006 to complete the work.