Perry County to break ground on new $1.6M highway department in the fall

The groundbreaking for the $1.6 million Johnny L Flowers Highway Department Building in Marion is expected to take place in fall of this year with completion aimed for fall 2025. 

An announcement on social media by Perry County Commission Chairman Albert Turner Jr. said that the structure of the current building is "beyond repair," prompting the need for a replacement. 

State and federal funding is being sought to make the project a reality. Turner stated that he has gotten conditional approval for a loan from the United States Department of Agriculture to fund construction. 

Turner estimated that a $50,000 per year in repayments will be made over a 30-year period. He is seeking to earmark the money from proceeds from the Arrowhead Landfill for repayment, he said. 

The building is named after Johnny L. Flowers, who was a commissioner that began in 1988. He passed away in 2019.