×
×
homepage logo

Residents pleased with milling and paving

By Staff | Aug 12, 2010

Many Shepherdstown residents are pleased with both the process and outcome of the recent milling and paving of some of Shepherdstown’s more deteriorated street surfaces. Residents reported minimal disturbances to their daily routine. Many praised the speed with which the work was completed, with individual sections of streets being closed down for two days or less.

“It only took one day,” said W. New Street resident Alex Tice, “it wasn’t even that much of an inconvenience.”

A few doors down, neighbor Effe Kallas almost laughed off questions about the quality and speed of the work.

“There’s nothing bad to say,” said Kallas on Tuesday, She reported no significant disruptions. When she lost access to her residential parking spots, she merely parked around the corner.

“We had good advance notice,” said W. High Street resident Sonja Evanisko.

In the July Town Council meeting, Evanisko asked that the town use the opportunity presented by milling and paving to correct a drainage problem on her block of High Street which sometimes resulted in storm water overflowing into the yards of her neighbors. She highlighted the work of municipal employee Kenny Shipley, who supervised the work for the town.

“Kenny deserves an extra thank you,” said Evanisko. “He was out there all day making sure the grading was right.”

Evanisko, an art professor at Shepherd University, also praised the aesthetics of the fresh asphalt.

“Visually, it makes everything look neat and clean,” she said. “I’m glad Mayor Auxer had this done. The workers were really friendly. Kind of fun, too.”

The approximately $200,000 project began roughly three weeks ago. In the ensuing weeks, workers methodically proceeded through town, with most streets milled and paved within two days. Crews worked on the most visibly deteriorated sections of Washington, King, New and Mill streets within a week and a half. By Friday, Aug. 6, most of High Street had been paved.

Prior to construction, city employees distributed letters to residents alerting them to the upcoming work and instructing them to remove their vehicles from affected streets during the construction. The letter told residents that during the week of July 26 crews would be working on Washington Street between Duke and Church streets, King Street between Washington and New streets, New Street between Duke and Church streets and Mill Street from the entrance of the Rumsey Monument to German Street. Beginning on Aug. 2, the crews were scheduled to work on the largest portion of the project, milling and paving five blocks of High Street from Church Street all the way down to the Norfolk Southern Rail Road tracks near the intersection of College and Ray Streets.

Near the intersection of High and Rocky streets, the roadway has been raised by at least a foot in some places, rising above the level of the existing sidewalk. A crude asphalt curb has been laid along the south side of E. High Street, the asphalt enveloping the bases of four parking meters. A similar asphalt curb on S. King Street has drawn the criticism of some elderly residents like Becky Schaffer, who has written about the issue in the local press. She complains that the asphalt curbing is a risk for elderly residents who may trip over it when getting out of their cars.

Keen observers will note patches of fresh asphalt laid out on King Street in front of the Town Hall. Officials are waiting until after the construction of the new Town Hall to re-pave that section of the street.