Highway Department

The Boone County transportation network includes over 300 miles of gravel roadways.  Although it would be nice to convert all of the gravel roadways to a hard surface, we do not have the resources available to do so.

The highway Department developed a formal road conversion program in 2018.  Highway funds are limited and the need is much greater than the resources.  Therefore, a formal application process utilizing a systematic decision tool was developed to help us identify the best candidate roadways for conversion from gravel to hard surface.  This decision tool will calculate a roadway’s “conversion score” based on several criteria that are important to evaluate when considering hard surfacing a roadway. 

The Highway Department has identified several top candidate roadways for conversion and developed an initial conversion list.  However, a major component of the Highway Department’s conversion program includes an opportunity for Boone County residents to submit road conversion requests/applications for their roadway to be scored and added to the master conversion list. 

Where to begin?

The application process will require an initial applicant to fill out the Boone County Application to Initiate the Conversion Process on a County Highway.   The initiating applicant will be the primary point of contact between the land owners on the roadway and the Boone County Highway Department.  As the primary point of contact, the individual will be asked to communicate with and distribute information to the property owners along the project.

Public Support

The single best way to increase a project’s score is by gathering public support from all of the adjacent landowners, not just homeowners.   The Land Owner Petition Form has been developed to assist the primary point of contact in gathering written support for the project.  The petition form asks legal landowners to answer several questions which will have a direct impact on a project’s score and the decision by the Boone County Highway Department to convert a roadway.  

Criteria that are scored in the systematic decision tool Include: cost of conversion, traffic volume, termini (surface of connecting roads), thoroughfare plan classification, connectivity (classification of connecting roads), parallel to a state road, public support, dedication of right of way, amount of work needed before conversion, regularity of maintenance needed, Boone County’s pre 2018 conversion plan, and financial participation.

Application and petition forms will be collected throughout the year with a cutoff each year on June 1^st.  Applications and petitions received by June 1, 2025 will be used for scoring and determining which road(s) would be converted in 2027.  Conversion documents received from June 1, 2025 until June 1, 2026 will be used for 2028 conversions.

Submissions will be kept on file, they do not need to be re-submitted..

Download 2024 Road Conversion Score Tabulation Sheet