City Targets Nearly $260K for Street Repairs
Olney residents weary of dodging potholes and navigating deteriorating streets could soon see improvements, as the City prepares to spend nearly $260,000 rehabilitating some of the most heavily traveled and damaged roads in town.
City Administrator Andy Wolfe presented a street rehabilitation plan to the Olney City Council at its Sept. 28 meeting, identifying three stretches of roadway as the City’s first priorities.
The work would target West Elm Street from Haggar Road to Western Avenue; Western Avenue from State Highway 114 to West Oak Street; and North Avenue O from West Oak Street to Bloodworth Street.
The City budgeted $207,000 for street improvements in the new fiscal year and has approximately $52,000 remaining from the previous year’s street budget, giving officials just under $260,000 to begin tackling a problem that has frustrated Olney residents for years.
Mr. Wolfe said he and Public Works Director Michael Jacoba met with a contractor to obtain preliminary pricing for chip seal as well as reconstruction work such as tear-outs and rebuilding road crowns.
He stressed that the three streets he presented were recommendations and asked the Council for direction about where the City’s limited street dollars should go first.
West Elm emerged as a priority in part because of the amount and type of traffic it carries. The proposed work would extend from Haggar Road to Western Avenue, passing The Refuge and the Grace Care Center.
“As you guys know, that road in front of the refuge is skinny as can be,” Mr. Wolfe told the Council, describing it as being in “horrible shape” but heavily traveled. The approximately 1,200-foot stretch is about 24 feet wide.
Mayor Rue Rogers agreed that heavily traveled streets and roads serving important community facilities should receive priority.
The Western Avenue project would extend from State Highway 114 to West Oak Street. Mr. Wolfe said that stretch also is in poor condition. Council members noted its importance for access to the nursing home and discussed damage caused by heavy garbage trucks maneuvering near dumpsters in the area.
Mr. Wolfe said the contractor had proposed installing a concrete slab for the dumpsters as part of the project, which could help protect the rehabilitated roadway from the repeated stress of heavy trucks turning at that location.
The third proposed project, North Avenue O from West Oak to Bloodworth, would connect to the existing concrete roadway extending north from State Highway 114. Mr. Wolfe said much of Avenue O needs work, but the City could begin with that section and continue improvements in future years.
Council members also discussed other streets in need of attention, including Avenue C, Fairway Drive, the interior road at Tom Griffin Park and the road leading into Lake Olney. But Mayor Rogers acknowledged that the City cannot repair everything at once.
He said the important thing is to begin steadily addressing the problem and demonstrate to residents that the City is investing money in its streets.
“There’s no other way to do it, and it’s expensive to do,” Mayor Rogers said. “But if we can do some every year and show the citizens that we’re making an effort and trying to improve our roads and spending money, I think it’s great.”
Chip seal stretches street dollars
The Council also weighed whether the City should use chip seal or the more expensive asphalt paving used on some previous projects.
Mr. Wolfe said asphalt remains an option, but its higher cost would mean repairing fewer streets with the money available this year.
Council members asked about the difference in longevity between the two surfaces. Mr. Wolfe said chip-sealed streets would likely need to be resealed on approximately a seven- to 10-year cycle.
Rather than viewing the work as a one-time fix, Mr. Wolfe said he wants to establish a longterm street maintenance schedule similar to the City’s capital replacement program for vehicles. The City would know when each rehabilitated street was due for another seal or other preventive maintenance and could budget accordingly.
That approach could allow Olney to address more streets now while preventing newly repaired roads from again deteriorating to the point that they require major reconstruction.
The Council did not need to take a formal vote on the street plan. Mr. Wolfe asked only for direction on which streets should move to the top of the list.
Council members reached a consensus to proceed with the three recommended projects.
Mr. Wolfe said the work will be put out for competitive bids and indicated he wants to move quickly once the process is completed.
The three projects are expected to consume most of the nearly $260,000 currently available for street improvements.
For residents who have watched Olney’s streets deteriorate faster than the City has been able to repair them, the work represents the beginning of what officials envision as a continuing, year-by-year effort rather than a one-time street project.