Washington plans summer paving projects
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
West Walnut Street in Washington is riddled with potholes and large cracks.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
West Walnut Street in Washington is one of the streets targeted for repair this summer.
City of Washington officials plan to pave West Walnut among other streets this summer.
During a meeting last week, Councilman Ken Westcott, director of public works, said Walnut Street, from North Main to Hall Avenue, will be the biggest paving project for the city this year. The project was bid out and the contract awarded to Youngblood paving for $136,000, he said.
“We don’t have a milling machine,” Westcott said. “That’s why we bid it out.”
He said that Walnut, from Main to Franklin, needs to be milled and resurfaced. The concrete portion toward Hall will also need to be redone, with asphalt put down over top of it.
The city also plans to spend about $40,000 to pave Strawberry Alley, which was torn up last year during a storm drain project, and another approximate $40,000 to pave Jennings Lane, which had collapsed more than two years ago when a gas line slipped, Westcott said.
“The gas company did their repairs, so now we have to reinforce the bank there and pave it,” Westcott said.
After those projects, Westcott said the city will have roughly $97,000 left for paving. Springfield Avenue and Murdoch Street are likely to make the list, he said.
“The goal here is to at least address one if not two streets in each ward, so that everyone would benefit from what we have left,” Westcott said. “I have to take what I have and use it wisely.”
Westcott said during the March 4 meeting that there are many streets that need work, as the city used more salt this year than in the last three years.
He said the public works department will also be doing some patchwork where needed.
“We don’t even know what asphalt’s going to cost yet,” he said.