Downtown road project on schedule, paving to begin July 8
The roadwork in downtown Russellville is going according to schedule and Mayor David Grissom said he is pleased with the progress that has been made so far.
Grissom said the milling work started on schedule on Monday evening at 6 p.m. and crews were able to complete the milling process from Tuscaloosa Street to Cotaco Street, sidewalk to sidewalk, a day earlier than expected.
“Crews worked downtown Monday through Thursday evenings milling up the old pavement and were able to have the project completed by the early hours of Friday morning,” Grissom said.
“The crews have been working very hard to get this project completed, and I’m proud they were able to finish the milling ahead of schedule.”
At the request of the Russellville Water and Sewer Department, Grissom said crews will let the road sit for a week so utility crews will have time to check for any potential water or sewer leaks that might have occurred during the milling process.
“There was some heavy equipment on the streets and all the work being done could have caused some of the water or sewer lines to spring leaks,” Grissom said.
“It’s better for the utility department to go ahead and check for leaks now rather than go straight into the paving process and the utility department have to come back later and dig into the new pavement to repair any damages.”
Grissom said the paving process is set to resume on Monday, July 8, at 6 p.m. and is estimated to take a week depending on the weather.
“Residents will be able to drive on Jackson Avenue in the evenings and at night this weekend and all this coming week until the paving resumes on July 8,” Grissom said.
“This will be good timing because we will have a lot of traffic heading to the south side of town for the July 4th celebration at Sloss Lake on Thursday.”
Grissom said once the paving resumes on July 8, residents should remember to avoid the downtown area from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“We appreciate all the residents and businesses for being so patient with us during this process,” he said.
“We believe it will all be worth it in the end when we have better roads to drive on.”
