By BECKY THOMAS
Staff Reporter
Annual street construction is underway in Cheney.
Work on a handful of arterial and residential streets began last week, which is later than usual, said engineering technician John Johnson.
“We normally try to get this done sooner and we did try to get this going sooner,” Johnson said. “But between the design and acquiring funding it just got delayed.”
He said the city was held up in acquiring federal ARRA funding that paid for a portion of the projects. The goal is to begin work as soon as school lets out in the Cheney School District and Eastern Washington University, Johnson said, in an attempt to finish the projects before school reconvenes in the fall.
Now they are somewhat pressed for time, especially on a couple of key streets for Cheney's schools, G and North Sixth streets.
”G was something we thought we had to focus on because we wanted to get it done before college started,” Johnson said.
Early this week, asphalt was being removed and dirt was piling up on the roadway on G near First Street. Johnson said G Street between First and Second streets was badly cracked, so the asphalt would be removed completely instead of receiving a patch job like most other streets on the list this summer.
Street repair is done on a rotation in Cheney, so every street gets an upgrade every six years. This allows the city to maintain streets without having to replace them as often, Johnson said.
For this year's project, contractors will patch and repave large portions of Second Street, all of G, Erie, Cocolalla streets and Clover Court and small sections on a handful of others.
Johnson urged citizens to avoid the construction if they can. If they live on streets receiving work, he said most streets would be drivable except during and immediately after paving, which is a weeklong process.
“The paving is actually probably the shortest part of the project. It happens quickly, so it shouldn't be a huge impact,” he said. “Hopefully people can get through the few days where it impacts their area and they're going to have a nice new road.”
According to the work schedule, the construction should end Sept. 28 for arterial streets and Oct. 18 for residential streets. The timeline has created some problems for the city and the Cheney School District, which starts school Sept. 1. Busses and other vehicles access the high school and Betz Elementary from North Sixth Street, and the portion from Elm to Oak will be under construction.
“We're working on that at this time,” Johnson said. “Believe me, the school district's concerned.”
He said he hoped to schedule the major work around the busy hours at the schools.
“We were hoping we could pave around those hours so we won't catch it during the busy times,” he said.
The city is also finishing up a repaving and sidewalk installation on Cheney-Spangle Road from First Street going over the railroad tracks. The project is being funded with help from a grant. Johnson said the project has been a complicated one.
“The railroad does things on their own schedule,” he said. “That's been a real challenge on our project.”
Burlington Northern and Union Pacific both cross the road, and the railroads were responsible for the work between the tracks and on either side. When a water line blew in early August, Burlington Northern completed their work at the same time they fixed the water line, but UP still hasn't completed the job.
“We've given up, I mean we're going to go forward. There's just going to be a gap in the work,” he said. “We have no control over them. They're a pretty powerful entity.”
Johnson said he hoped to have that project completed by the end of August.
For more information, work schedules and a map of the streets affected by construction, visit http://www.cityofcheney.org.
Becky Thomas can be reached at [email protected].
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