Bloomington dedicates more funding to basic infrastructure with the council spending $6.4 million on sidewalk and street projects.
A $4 million contract with Rowe Construction for street resurfacing was approved as well as a $2.4 million contract with George Gildner for sidewalks and curbs.
“We are doing a Phase One and a Phase Two this year,” said Operations and Engineering Director Kevin Kothe referring to the curb work. “The Phase Two contract will be coming sometime later this year. The same type of thing for resurfacing, we approved the Phase One contract tonight and then a Phase Two will be coming a little bit later.”
These two projects are funded out of fiscal year 2024 funds. That budget year began on May 1.
Notable streets included in this resurfacing contract include; Oakland Avenue from Morrissey Drive to Regency Drive, Towanda Avenue from Kurt Drive to Orleans Drive and Wood Street from Morris Avenue to Main Street. In addition to work on Wood Street a number of local streets in the South Hill neighborhood will be resurfaced.
Curb and sidewalk projects are distributed city wide. Often many of these projects are done in conjunction with street resurfacing to improve the entire street at one time.
Paving for Phase Two of the 2023 Resurfacing Project just got started during the second week in October.
Washington Street from Hershey Road to Evergreen Lane is included in this project in addition to a number of other local streets.
According to Kothe, Bloomington includes more major streets in its Phase One package because only a limited number of contractors can do that kind of work. Typically Rowe is the only contractor that bids on the Phase One package.
By putting smaller streets in a smaller group the city is able to get more contractors to bid the projects. Three bids were submitted for the 2022 Phase Two package. More bidders results in better prices.
Bloomington’s 2022 Reclamite Project also got under way during the week of October 8. Reclamite is a material used to treat streets so they will last longer.
The city says is not just sitting idly by waiting for streets to wear out so they can repave them again.
Instead they claim they are trying to get longer lives out of the city’s streets so they don’t have to be repaved as often. Doing this will save residents money in the long run.
Grove Street from East Street to Gridley Street and Wood Street from Pancake Street to Livingston Street are among a number of streets being treated with Reclamite. Some streets will be getting their first treatment while others will be getting their second.
