The bane of potholes and buckles in Concordia Parish roads will soon be lessened.

The Concordia Parish Police Jury passed a resolution Tuesday night to provide for the issuance of bonds for the second phase of its road project.

The first phase of the project, in which 25 miles of road were overlaid with new asphalt, is already under way.

That phase of the project, funded by a 1.5-cent special sales tax and a 20-year bond, cost $4.9 million.

The second phase will cost $6.9 million, Police Jury Secretary Russell Wagoner said.

During phase II, 31 miles of 32 roads will be overlaid, Wagoner said.

Road construction crews will lay new subsoil cement, and then put new asphalt on the cement, Wagoner said.

The order in which roads are improved is based on several criteria, he said.

“It’s going to be all-new road,” he said.

“The priorities that they used were the number of vehicles (that uses the road), the number of houses on the road and the present condition of the road,” Wagoner said.

Phase II will also be funded by tax dollars.

“We’re going to get a guaranteed loan with a low interest rate of 4.9 percent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” Police Jury President Melvin Ferrington said.

Phase II depends on the final decision from the USDA, Ferrington said.

“We’re hoping to get a letter of commitment this week,” he said.

Once the jury receives a commitment from the USDA, they will advertise for bids for the project, Ferrington said.

USDA standards dictate that the jury will have 120 days after they open bids to complete the project, he said.

“Hopefully, as the parish grows, we can maybe do a new list in three or four years,” he said.