Road construction may be a nuisance, but it's got to be done.
While roadwork is taking place in various parts of the city, the activity near Sixth and Sixth has been particularly noticeable to many residents.
"We appreciate it is an inconvenience," said Jim Lowrie, the city's director of engineering services. "It has to be done. Replacing a water main, you only do it every 50 years."
Work along the Sixth Street corridor and some of the side streets has been underway since the spring. The project has involved installation of new water mains, new sewer mains and connections to all of the individual properties.
Lowrie said the Sixth Street area impacted by the roadwork will be repaved from curb to curb in the spring. He said the city has asked the contractor to go back and replace some of the patches that were done because of concerns about the quality.
Although road construction peaks during the summer months, work is continuing in various parts of the city. Work on some of the Brow of the Hill traffic calming devices is among the work that's currently underway.
"We can do some of the work. The concrete work, you can do that in weather like today," Lowrie said on a recent cool, clear day. "When it gets really cold and wet, that affects the paving."
That's why the final paving of Sixth Street won't be done this year and will wait until spring.
"We wouldn't want to start a big paving job because it (weather) is unpredictable," Lowrie said. "We wouldn't take that risk."
