Cowart Lane Road will receive some much needed improvement afterthe county received a $33,650 grant from the Delta RegionalAuthority, officials say.

The county will provide a 22 percent match, totaling $9,567, forthe approximately $40,000 project, said District 4 Supervisor DougMoak. However, much of the county’s portion of the funding will beoffset by early dirt work and site preparation, he said.

Cowart Lane Road, which comprises one side of a triangle linkingAuburn Drive and Highway 84, will be widened, surfaced and improvedwith concrete drain pipes under the grant. Moak said he intends tobuild the road as close to State Aid specifications as the fundingwill allow.

The road has needed to be improved for quite some time, Moaksaid, and the decision by Highway 84 Chevron Inc. to expand itsoperations provided the impetus needed to get the grantapproved.

Neal Bozeman, owner of Highway 84 Chevron Inc., said the storewill be moving its grocery goods and gas pumps to the new location,which places it inside the triangle formed by the three roads. Thenumber of gas pumps will increase by 50 percent with the move.

“It will be one of the nicest in the area when we’re done,” hesaid. “If you’ve been here before, you know how cramped ourconvenience store is now. This will help with that.”

The store’s tire shop will remain in its current location undera new name, which has not been determined, Bozeman said.

The move also serves to “relieve the traffic congestion here,”he said. “When the tire shop is busy and people are getting gas, itcan be difficult to move vehicles in here.”

84 Chevron may have provided the impetus to get the projectapproved, but it was the $1.4 million in economic improvementimpact projected that sealed the grant, Moak said.

The upgrade of Cowart Lane Road will allow easier and saferaccess for increased log truck traffic to Cortez Byrd Chips, Inc.on Auburn Drive.

“There will be a lot of major truck traffic going through thereafter the new station is built,” Moak said.

Bozeman said he believes the upgrade will also improve safety.It is easier to see and be seen by eastbound Highway 84 traffic onCowart Lane Road than Auburn Drive, he said.

“I’m hoping there will be fewer accidents when this iscomplete,” he said.

Moak could not say when county crews would begin the preparatorywork. He wanted to coordinate more with Bozeman before beginningconstruction.

U.S. Third District Rep. Chip Pickering helped secure the grantfor the project.

“These federal funds will improve highway safety and provide theinfrastructure for increased economic expansion,” Pickering said ina press release announcing the grant. “As our industries andcommunities grow in Lincoln County, we have to keep up the highwaysand roadways necessary to accommodate that development.”