Advertisement The Board of Public Works is looking at tearing up the existing road, which is crumbling, reaching the end of its useful life and is too narrow for traffic.
The plans presented at a public information session last week showed the road being widened from 25 feet to 36 feet, with storm drains, curbs, bike lanes on both sides and a sidewalk on the east side of the road.
Approximately 200 residents along the stretch of road were notified of the changes scheduled for the summer of 2009. Although local access to homes and businesses will be maintained, the road will be closed to through traffic during construction.
In addition to local traffic, the road is heavily used by northbound truckers exiting the industrial park from the south. Truck traffic is part of the reason for the deterioration of Oak Avenue which was not built for it. The new road will be built to handle heavy trucks and will be lower than the existing road.
Once the road is completed, parking will be restricted due to the new curb, gutter, boulevard and sidewalk.
Temporary easements are anticipated for right of way in developing driveways and slopes. The city will have to obtain one permanent right of way near the Hoffman Mobile Home Park for the construction of a retaining wall.
Advance Comfort Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC is located along the road and the owner, Dave Barth, said the improvements are badly needed. He is waiting until the construction is complete before deciding if he will be adding a new building on his property.
While he agrees that the road is in rough shape and needs to be fixed, Jeff Preeshl, owner of the Snowhite Laundromat along with wife Sherri, is not looking forward to the construction. Preeshl said they have two laundromats that have suffered while the roads in front of them have undergone reconstruction.
“This third will be the worst because they are putting curbing, a sidewalk and a boulevard in front,” he said.
Preeshl said he believes the sidewalk and boulevard will shorten the parking lot and the curbing will make it more difficult for customers to park.
“Customers won’t be able to just pull in like they do now,” Preeshl said. “Instead they’ll just about have to maneuver around. If it’s not easy to get in and out of, customers will quickly go elsewhere.”
He said it has happened at the other two laundromats they own.
Preeshl said he is working with the city to change it, but “they don’t seem inclined to agree with me right now.”
The city received a $96,000 Bicycle Enhancement Grant from the state and a state Local Road Improvement grant for $180,000 to go towards the estimated $750,000 project.
Citizens are encouraged to submit comments to the city through the month of August. In the fall, the city will be finalizing the designs and obtaining rights of way. There will be a public hearing on the Capital Improvement Budget in October. The Board of Public Works will review and prioritize projects through November and December. There will be another public hearing at the BPW meeting in January 2009. Then the project will go before the Common Council in February and hopefully be bid out after Common Council approval.
Jarrod Holter, city engineer, said the project is a highly prioritized item in the Capital Improvement Budget and does not anticipate problems in getting it approved for the 2009 year or 2010 at the latest.
Contact Jo Anne Killeen at joanne.killeen@lee.net or 786-6816.
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