City paving projects underway
City roads will be getting a facelift soon if plans to improve the condition of several different streets go according to plan.
The Russellville City Council authorized the advertisement for planing, resurfacing, stripping and other roadwork at last Monday’s meeting and set the bid opening for May 29.
Roads included in this wave of improvements are Parliament Street, the rear entrance at Russellville Middle School, South Washington Avenue, Gaines Avenue, Cross Street, St. Clair Street, College Avenue, Limestone Street and Duncan Creek Road.
Sections of Summit Street, Pine Street, Filmore Street, Tuscaloosa Street, Redbud Avenue, the intersection of Lawrence Street and Cross Street, and Underwood Road from Evans Street to U.S. 43 were previously approved to receive road work. Bids for the work on these roads have already been received and officials said work should begin soon.
Russellville Mayor Troy Oliver said the council hired Jim Hitt, who has over 20 years of experience working with the Alabama Department of Transportation, to draw up plans and assess which roads needed the most work.
“We wanted to make sure the worst roads were taken care of first,” Oliver said. “There are roads all over the city that need to be fixed so we had to prioritize and decide which ones were really in the worst condition.”
Councilman David Grissom said the condition of the city’s roads is something he has been concerned with ever since he’s been in office.
“The council knows how bad the roads are because we live here and have to drive on these same roads every day,” Grissom said. “But instead of just throwing some asphalt out for a quick fix, we want to make sure we are making the best use of the city’s money.
“These road projects we are approving will allow for the worst places to be completely graded down and brand new asphalt put in its place so the road quality will be better and last longer.”
Grissom said after Hitt was finished compiling a list of roads that needed improvements, he coordinated with the council to make sure each district would be covered.
“We are trying to do this as fair as possible because we know this is an issue that is important to just about every person in the city,” he said.
Oliver added that they would continue to work on the road issue as long as funds were available.
