The 2022 Neighborhood Street Program will see pavement work for the following streets:
- Olive Street (Madison to McCreight avenues)
- East Cecil Street (Fountain Avenue to Limestone Street; Limestone Street to dead end)
- East Cassilly Street (Limestone Street to Rodgers Drive)
- East Madison Avenue (Limestone Street to Rodgers Drive)
- Lowry Avenue (McCreight Avenue to Glendale Drive)
- First Street (Plum Street to Pythian Avenue)
- Second Street (Plum Street to Pythian)
- Third Street (St. Paris Pike to Plum Street)
- Third Street (Lowry to Pythian avenues)
City of Springfield construction superintendent Kurt Tyson said work is slated to continue on the selected streets over the next several weeks, ending before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Although the cost of materials and overall inflation have impacted construction projects, the street program “didn’t get hit too hard,” Tyson said. All streets that were scheduled to be included in the program this year are being addressed.
Money for the road improvements comes from a 0.4% income tax levy Springfield residents first approved in 2017 that ran through 2021. The paving project kicked off in 2018 and has seen dozens of streets in the city repaved annually.
In May 2021, voters passed a 10-year renewal of the 2017 levy. The Neighborhood Street Paving Program was one of the services built into that. Work toward street construction for 2023 and 2024 is underway, according to Springfield community coordinator Valerie Lough.
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said continuing the Neighborhood Street Program is a must.
“We are dedicated to the task of doing all we can to better the lives of our residents by improving neighborhoods and maintaining our infrastructure,” Heck said.
Residents of streets slated for work this expressed delight over the upcoming project.
A resident of Olive Street for six years, Krystal Russell said she often has to navigate her area with caution, dodging potholes and broken patches of pavement while driving several miles under the speed limit to avoid damage to her car.
“It’s just so bumpy,” she said. “So I’m very happy they’re coming to fix it.”
Around the corner, East Cecil Street resident Mike Pikey said he’s glad to see his street will see pavement work, although city workers often come to his stretch to do patchwork in the several years he’s lived there.
Several streets that surround schools in the city were paved in early August as a part of this year’s program, Tyson said. This includes Fostoria Avenue from High Street to Mountjoy Street; Mountjoy Street from Fostoria Avenue to Morton Drive; Yellow Springs Street from Harding Street to Third Street.
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