MOUNT VERNON — The annual paving projects in the city of Mount Vernon are getting off to an earlier start. It’s not something city officials wanted to have happen, but it’s something they felt needed to be done.
This winter was tough on all streets in the area, but especially tough on Coshocton Avenue. The asphalt has broken up on a good portion of the street between Park Street and Shalimar Drive, and the city has put it on the top of the list for repair.
They recently accepted proposals from local asphalt companies on fixing up Coshocton Avenue with Small’s Sand & Gravel winning with a bid of approximately $44,000. Now that the weather is finally getting warm enough, Small’s is expected to fire up the hot mix asphalt plant soon and start work on the project as soon as the weather permits.
According to City Streets Department chairman Dave Carpenter, Small’s will do what he calls “mill and fill.” They will be grinding off the top 2 1/2 inches of asphalt in the worse areas of Coshocton Avenue, then filling them back in and rolling them. That will, hopefully, eliminate the major potholes without creating the bump in the road that patching sometimes makes.
Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Mavis expects some traffic delays as Coshocton Avenue will be down to one lane as they work on the project. But, he said, a flagger will be on hand to help traffic flow through the work area.
The city will advertise for bids for the regular paving projects in the near future.
Carpenter also said his crews will be out with the street sweeper, cleaning up the streets, beginning the week of May 2. He expects them to be busy sweeping throughout May.
Another street issue the city is looking at is the grading of alleys. That is another item that is weather-driven and the grading will begin as soon as the alleys dry out enough.
