Street department faces a busy summer
By KATHRYN MARTINEZ news1@kilgorenewsherald.com

City street crews have miles of road work ahead of them. In fact the department has a little more than nine miles of roads that are in need of hot-mix overlay.

The city originally planned to address many of the selected streets with seal coat, but the number of patched utility cuts in the proposed streets led Tim Hobbs, city street superintendent, to believe overlay was the better option.

Streets named for the proposed overlay include: Martin Luther King, from State Highway 31 to Fritz Swanson; Alexander, from Martin Luther King to Tierra Del Sol; Carver, from Martin Luther King to the dead end; Gray, from Hwy 31 to William; William, from Gray to dead end; Tierra Del Sol, from William to Swanson; Swanson, from Tierra Del Sol to Fritz Swanson; S. Martin, from Knowles to Houston; S. Martin, from Houston to Harris; Danville Drive, from Stone Road to dead end; Kay, from Commerce to State Highway 42; and Martin, from Kay to Danville.

Hobbs said only half of the proposed overlay work may be completed without county participation.

"Commissioner Barbee has indicated that Pct. 3 crews are busy," Hobbs said.

Bob Barbee, Gregg County Pct. 3 commissioner and his crews have assisted in a number of city street projects and even parking lot construction this year.

"We appreciate everything the county does for us," Hobbs said. "The last time I spoke to commissioner Barbee, the county was still committed to helping us with several other projects."

Among other projects in line for county participation is the lane-widening project on FM 349 at Synergy Park. Pct. 3 is also slated to help in the completion of a one-way-in, one-wayout parking lot at Meadow- brook Park.

While the parking lot has been shelved until later in the year, work on FM 349 is scheduled to begin any time now. Pct. 3 is already set for clearing brush and trees in the surveyed project area.

Repairs to the Lantrip Street drainage channel is another street department project, coming up in the near future.

According to Hobbs, the middle section of the channel, originally constructed in the 1950s with bagged-concrete blocks, has failed and is causing erosion for many home-owners along the drainage corridor.

The section is not visible from the road and the city will be working along the 450-foot section of channel once all right-of-way easements have been filed and advertised bids are approved.

One street project already open for bids, is set to repair many of the existing concrete streets in the city that have been scarred by utility cuts.

Hobbs said there is little contractor interest in the project.

"This project is really just patch work on 11 streets, spread over seven blocks," Hobbs said. "I am hoping to have some bids in by next month."

Streets on this proposed package include parts of Maple Street, Pine Street , Oak Drive, Meadow Lane, Brook Drive, Nolan Street, Elder Street, Ross Avenue, Laird Avenue, Crim Avenue, Broadway Boulevard and Wood Street.

The sprawling project totals 3,137 square yards of concrete.

Parts of these projects may stretch into the next budget year.