WORK STARTS MONDAY — City Engineer Mike Dolak said work on the Sunset Boulevard repaving project will start Monday. -- Linda Harris

STEUBENVILLE — It’s good news/bad news for area residents who use Sunset Boulevard.

The good news is Sunset between Welday Avenue and Efts Lane is going to be resurfaced — and the state of Ohio, with some federal funding, is picking up the $1.7 million tab.

The bad news? Traffic flow could be impacted, though crews will be working at night to minimize any effects.

City Engineer Mike Dolak said the work begins Monday.

“(It) consists of resurfacing Sunset Boulevard from Efts Lane to Welday Avenue,” he said. “(The work) will take place at night and will begin around 6:30 p.m. and continue throughout the evening, halting at 7 a.m. This work is (expected) to be complete by Sept. 30.”

Dolak said they’ll start by removing the existing asphalt surface using a cold milling process. Once the milling is complete, he said the asphalt intermediate and surface course will be placed, followed by paving.

“(It) starts just west of Legal Hair, at Welday Avenue, and it runs 2.5 miles out to the west corporation limit, which is right by Efts Lane,” he said. “Traffic will be maintained with single-lane closures, however motorists are advised to drive slowly through the construction work zone and be aware of traffic pattern changes.”

He said federal funds provided by Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission will augment state funds to cover the estimated $1.7 million price tag.

“There may be some things that pop up that we may have to address that (the state and federal funding) won’t pay for,” he said. “We’re also going to do the first 500 feet of the John Scott connector from Sunset over the hill.”

Dolak said the work is badly needed.

“This portion of Sunset was last resurfaced back in 2010 so it’s been 15 years, and it’s greatly needed,” he said. “There have been a lot of complaints during the winter regarding some poor pavement that’s popped up, and that only intensifies each winter and each rain. So, we’re glad to get it paved.”

He said thousands of cars travel Sunset every day, with roughly 12,000 vehicles a day in the Welday Avenue area on a daily basis.

“As you approach John Scott, you’re probably up to between 15,000 and 18,000 cars a day, and as you get out to Lovers Lane, you’re probably around between 20,000 and 22,000 cars a day,” Dolak said. “So, it’s heavily used.”

Motorists are asked to keep their speed down, stay alert to traffic changes and exercise “patience and cooperation,” he said.

NLS Paving of St. Clairsville is the contractor.