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Wider, safer street re-opens
By Richard Reeder
This document was published online on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Drivers are enjoying a newly widened and paved East Sheridan Avenue this week.
“We're closing in on the end,” city Public Works Director Steve Payne said. “All the signs are being reinstalled.
“The diamonds around the manhole covers are being installed,” he added. “And there are mailboxes that have to reinstalled according to what the postmaster wanted.”
Payne said a walk-through is planned for the end of the week.
“We'll have some business owners and the city council out there,” Payne said. “We thought about a ribbon cutting, but I'm not sure we can do that.”
The project, including storm sewers, extended east from 19th Street to the bottom of the East Sheridan Hill. It included widening the street, asphalt paving and adding new curb, gutter and sidewalks. Lighting will come later.
“We also have added turn lanes at 19th, 23rd and 24th streets,” Payne said. “We made it a better road to travel.”
The project was originally bid at $1.7 million and two change orders during construction added $20,180. The contract with the project designer was $285,000.
Payne said work has progressed well.
“The wet weather slowed us in June,” Payne said. “It was hard to work in that bad weather.”
UBC/ProBuild manager Rod Schutzman said the work hasn't impacted his business much.
“But it's good to come to the end of it,” he said.
“The city did a good job of keeping the delays to a minimum,” he added. “Plus, we have a couple of other ways in and out. We had a tough go at times, but we were fine.”
Schutzman said the new road looks good.
“It's nice that they widened it,” he added. “It will be a better road than we've had in the past.”
A prominent dip at the 21st Street corner with the UBC parking lot also has been leveled.
“We love it,” Big Horn Carpet One's Sue Sporer said of the project. “The city did a fabulous job with the new street.”
She said the road construction didn't hurt business at their stores.
“It didn't keep people from coming here,” she added. “We've been here long enough that people just went around and came in the back door.”
Eastgate Cleaners owner Kim Nelson said the roadwork hurt his business.
“While the construction was going on we suffered about a 20 percent drop,” Nelson said. “People just couldn't get in here.”
But he said the new road will be an asset.
“We're glad it's over and have been looking forward to this,” he said. “We hope the city follows up and removes more power poles and installs street lights.”
Nelson said the improvements have been needed for years.
“There is more traffic on this street than people think and there have been some serious accidents,” he added. “Now with the new school going in at the top of the hill and all the new subdivisions on the east side, it's too bad it couldn't be made even wider.”
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Barb wrote on Jul 29, 2008 1:41 PM: