June 19, 2017 at 4:13 p.m.
Weather, contractor schedule delays Stevens Street paving
Weather, contractor schedule delays Stevens Street paving
According to public works director Tim Kingman, stormy weather across the state has caused delays in several of the contractor's other projects, prompting the workers to postpone the planned paving work on Stevens and West Rives streets until those projects are finished.
In an interview Friday, Kingman acknowledged that although there were a couple of days last week that many people considered "perfect paving weather," the contractor, Northeast Asphalt from Green Bay, was not doing the work, despite the streets being blocked off.
"It might be expressed as a delay, but it is on the contractor's schedule that he is required to perform," Kingman said. "I think that, over time, people have been inconvenienced, and this is how it comes forth from them when they are frustrated."
Kingman said Stevens Street had been closed since last week, and that closure was part of the project schedule.
"On the contractor's schedule, it would be Monday or Tuesday when they would start. We're going to push for Monday," he said. "We continue to try to get people back here to work."
He said the closure isn't just for paving. The castings, such as manholes and other access points to underground utilities, also have to be raised to the correct finished height to be flush with the final layer of asphalt, he noted. It took about a week to get all of those done, he explained.
"One of the things we've tried to do is open up the streets where people can get in, but they have reduced speeds going through there because of the barriers they have to navigate through. If a motorist is to hit one of these castings or valve boxes at the regular speed, there could be damage to those materials," Kingman said. "So in a compromise, we have these people who genuinely deserve to see the road done quickly, we've allowed traffic to get to various places. We're trying our best to work with the public, but this is what is necessary to get the road done correctly."
He said he is well aware of the frustrations coming from residents and business owners because some of them have been contacting him. He said the temporary solution was provided because the city could not provide a more timely resolution to the final stages of the project.
"It's not the easiest thing to express to people, but it is what we have," Kingman said.
He reiterated that the project is on the contractor's schedule, and rain delays on other jobs have pushed back work on the Rhinelander project.
"As much as we would like to say, 'Hey Joe, come over and do this now,' you can do that if you're talking about a driveway in your yard, but you can't do it every time you're talking about men who are coming from Green Bay or farther parts away," Kingman said. "And they have a full agenda that has been delayed by weather otherwise. So we fit into a time slot, we try to keep those time slots and make good use of them."
He said the last preparations on the castings were completed Thursday. Once the paving starts, Stevens Street will be completely closed for the duration of the work, he added.
"Right now people are able to meander through to get to their destinations. Next Monday or Tuesday, they won't be able to do that for a day," he said. "Then, in turn, on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, when they paint the roads, they won't be able to do it again, either."
He said the goal is to limit these closures to just a few hours, but he understands that there will be some inconvenience while the work is going on.
"We try to make the best out of a limited situation," he said.
He added that Stevens Street is the next project on Northeast Asphalt's list of jobs, provided they were able to get last week's jobs done around the frequent rain showers.
"I'm looking at the sky right now and I'm hoping it doesn't look like that where they're working right now, because that pushes our schedule for Monday to Tuesday," he said of the threatening skies over Rhinelander Friday afternoon.
It must have rained where the contractor was working Friday because paving did not start Monday as Kingman had hoped.
Jamie Taylor may be reached at [email protected].
Comments:
You must login to comment.