Work to install guardrails on Elk River Mills and Baker Hill Roads in northwest Limestone County will start within the month.

The Limestone County Commission Monday approved the installation of the guardrails at a cost of $168,912. Alabama Guardrail Inc. is the apparent low bidder on the project.

“It will make the roads a lot safer,” said District 4 Commissioner Bill Daws. “Right now, it’s a safety issue. It has been that way for years.”

Commissioners have signed an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation authorizing the project that will be paid from state public road and bridge funds.

Daws said guardrails and end anchors would be installed on Elk River Mills Road and on Baker Hill Road. Those two roads intersect near Sportsman’s Park in the western section of the county. The project is expected to take three months to complete.

Guard rails will go up at the store at Sportsman’s Park, cross the bridge, and go beyond the “Y” on Elk River Mills Road, commissioners said. On Baker Hill, guardrails will be installed on the west side of the road to the bottom of the hill.

Daws said those roads in the area at the river are extremely dangerous, especially during icing and at night when the roads are wet.

The state has had poles stuck in the ground at those locations for decades. Some of the poles are rotten and have been removed. Others are continuing to deteriorate.

Guard rails along Elk River Mills Road at the river were installed along the road several years ago, but the project was not completed, commissioners said. The new guardrails will complete the project.