(CHADRON)-The city of Chadron will soon be repaving three blocks of city streets that are in need of repair. Public works director Milo Rust says the 600 block of Lake Street, the 200 block of North Morehead Street, and the 100 block of Norfolk Avenue are in desperate need of upgrading. “These streets were sub-standard, and they’re falling apart,” he says. “They were actually the next three streets on our list of projects to do for our one-and-six-year plan, cause they are sub-standard and they needed work.”

Rust says the city will conduct the first phase of the project, milling off the existing asphalt and putting down six inches of ground-up asphalt and concrete for the base. The second portion of the project, a new asphalt top of 3-4 inches, was bid out. At their meeting Monday night, city council members voted to accept an asphalt bid from Hills Materials Company out of Rapid City for $81,495.

Rust says the project will begin right away and will be finished before summer is gone. “Terry (Birnbaum, city streets superintendent) started today grinding out Norfolk,” says Rust. “It’s a new project for all of us. We’re trying to figure how long it will take us to do this and get them prepped and ready. We’re hoping that they could be laying asphalt in less than two months, and we should be done. I know we’ll be done before September.”

Rust said the streets themselves will not be accessible for a short time while the repaving is being conducted, but crews will aim to keep things as convenient as possible for residents during the upgrade. “They will be torn up and closed for a short term,” he says. “We’re going to try and make sure that local traffic can utilize their driveways and park. If they don’t have an access to the back side of their property, Terry is going to try and make arrangements so they can get in and out and still park and utilize their parking stalls in front.”

Rust says the brief hassle should be worth it to most people once the new streets are finished. The total cost of the project will run about $120,000.

 

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