MOUNT VERNON — The first phase of the Gay Street Improvement Project is nearing completion.
According to Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis, the workers will be sporadically shutting off the water today as they complete the transformation from the old water lines to the new ones. That will affect the water pressure and availability from Public Square to McKenzie Street and from High to Sugar streets.
“People may experience some outages. If they lose water, they’re subject to a boil order. But, this is necessary to finish the underground work,” said Mavis.
Despite the inconvenience, Mavis said there is good news for the project. Workers are expected to begin laying asphalt on the west side of Gay Street from Howard Street to Chestnut Street within the next week.
“Once they do that, then they will move to the east side of the road. We’re expecting because there’s less infrastructure work on the east side, that this thing will move faster,” he said. “We’re on schedule to meet the August deadline. There will continue to be some blockages and inconveniences, but if we can just get through the next couple of months, we’ll have a new street to drive on.”
As work continues on the street, new traffic signals are also being placed at the intersections. A new, larger, digital signal was placed at the Ohio Avenue intersection recently and work has begun on the signal at Gambier Street.
“We’re talking with the engineer about the light sequence. There will be an effort made to make sure there’s a smooth flow of traffic,” Mavis said.
Work also began this week on the water line project on Wooster Road and Vernon View Drive. The city is replacing a 1,500-foot section of water line on Wooster Road, then will begin work on extending the line down Vernon View to Avalon Road.
“That will help balance the pressure, make more water available for fighting fires or when there are leaks,” Mavis said.
The city opened bids this week on asphalt resurfacing projects this summer. Fourteen streets are on the list to be resurfaced. Bids were received from Kokosing Construction and Small’s Asphalt Paving Inc. City Engineer Cameron Keaton is reviewing those bids before one is awarded this week.
Mavis said code enforcement officer Larry Fogle has been busy this spring, working on high grass, trash and vehicle issues on properties in the city. He has been attempting to contact the owners of uninhabited houses and then notifying owners of the properties with high grass issues that the city will begin mowing if it’s not done by the owner. Once the city begins mowing a property, it will continue to do so until the owner notifies it they will take care of the property. The city will then recoup the costs by placing them on the owner’s taxes.
The roof on the Plaza Building is completed and work has now begun on the parapet walls.
Mavis said some of the crew hired because of a donor grant has started working for the city. Several have started painting fire hydrants around the city, while some are working in city hall, performing scanning and copying duties.
The city will also begin keeping the security light at the playground at Riverside Park on all night. Currently, it is turned off at 11 p.m., but problems with vandalism at the park has forced the city to turn the light on all night. Mavis also said the crosswalk on West High Street will be moved to the west side of Fountain Street. They will be building handicap ramps, placing extra striping on the street and adding signs, warning oncoming traffic of pedestrians. The city will also increase the amount of space between the crosswalk and parking on the street.
