Traffic on West Center Street in Warsaw may get a little hairier this month.
The Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on Friday approved signing a contract between the city and Phend & Brown Inc. for a resurfacing project on West Center Street for $205,404. The board approved the bid on July 19.
“It’s a pretty significant project the city will have done this year,” Mayor Joe Thallemer said, asking Street Superintendent Jeff Beeler the approximate days for the work to begin.
Beeler said it’s supposed to be sometime in the middle of September, “so here hopefully in the next week or two. We have found some other issues on that road. They’re being addressed and hopefully it’ll be completed in a timely manner to have that road to be done. It’s a two-part process, two kind of different companies.”
He said the sub-bidder will be on the project to do a fabric overlay to help control “some of the reflective cracking that’s going to occur. Since so much work has occurred on that road section in the last two years, with sewer and storm, it kind of looks like Swiss cheese right now. So we’re going to do a fabric overlay and then put asphalt on top of that.”
Beeler said they’ve done that process in other areas, like Main Street, and it “really seemed to service” Main Street “very well in the last two years.”
The project should take three days, weather permitting.
Utilities Superintendent Brian Davison told the board, “On the Center Street project, we have Market Street closed so we can line that storm sewer currently, if you travel that way you’ll realize that. It’ll be closed through next week. Also, so we can pave Center Street, the water company has bored through our sewer in a couple of spots so we have to do some emergency repairs there before they can pave. So we’re going to have restrictions on Center Street probably as well. That’s going to create kind of a traffic nightmare with Center and Market, but we’re going to do the best we can to keep people moving through there.”
He said on Thursday, there was an emergency repair with flaggers so traffic was kept moving during that repair work.
“Probably be a similar situation next week,” Davison said.
Thallemer asked if they would be lane restrictions and not closed.
“Most of the work will be in the westbound lane so we think we can still get cars through,” he said.
The work on Center Street was not anticipated at the same time work on Market Street was occurring, Davison said.
During discussion of blocking off two parking spaces on Buffalo Street in front of the courthouse plaza on Fridays through the end of October for food vendors, as requested by the Warsaw Community Development Corp., the Board learned there may be an issue at the intersection of Buffalo and Center streets that may alter those plans.
Beeler reminded the board the traffic signal project at the intersection will begin in about the next two weeks, providing the poles come in. The project includes the replacement of the traffic signals at the intersection.
“That’s certainly going to interfere with some lunch-time activities,” Thallemer said.
The food vendors have been at the plaza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. over the last few weeks as a pilot program spearheaded by the WCDC.
Thallemer said the effect the traffic signal work will have on the lunchtime vendors will have to be worked out between the street department and WCDC.
He asked Beeler if it will be safe for people to eat in the plaza.
“There’s not going to be any entrance ramps anywhere at the four corners. They are all getting removed and ripped out, including the sidewalks. So there are going to be alternative ways for pedestrian transportation with signage and blockades and whatnot. So the entire intersection is going to be pretty messy,” Beeler stated.
When asked how long the work on the traffic lights will take, Beeler said he didn’t know.
“That will certainly affect how this works out,” Thallemer said.
The Board of Works approved WCDC’s request to extend the Friday lunch vendors, pending the construction.
