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NEW CUMBERLAND - A few weeks after being announced by the governor, a project to pave the city streets of New Cumberland is getting under way.
According to information released Tuesday night by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, paving of all city streets is beginning this week, with traffic restrictions in place daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., from the intersection of Industrial Park Road and state Route 2, to Jackson Street.
The project is scheduled to continue through until early November, with flaggers maintaining traffic.
"This is going to be something different for us," explained New Cumberland Mayor Will White during Monday’s city council meeting.
The paving project, expected to reach every area of the city, is the result of $1.2 million in funding announced Sept. 22 by Gov. Patrick Morrisey while in the area.
The paving is being performed by a contractor working under the supervision of the WVDOT, not by city crews.
"That's going to get a lot of streets and sidewalks. That's going to make a big difference," Morrisey said while making the announcement.
One area of concern noted by the city is the lack of available parking on some of the residential streets in the city, with some officials pointing, in particular, to 2nd and 3rd avenues, where many of the residents have primarily used on-street parking.
"I never see those cars move," Councilmember Jo-Ellen Kessel said.
Police Chief Lester Skinner noted there will need to be some communication between the state’s contractor and the city in order to make certain residents are notified in an appropriate amount of time.
"We’ll put flyers on the cars," Skinner said, explaining one way the city can notify residents of the paving.
State officials have said the goal is to have all of the paving completed by Thanksgiving.
This isn’t the only state-funded street project taking place in the city, as construction continues on the almost-$12 million realignment project of state Route 2.
Although delayed in recent months by drainage concerns which resulted in some design changes, the contract, performed by Triton Construction, is on schedule to be completed next fall, eliminating the "S" turn in the city’s downtown by taking Route 2 down Station Hill and running parallel to the existing railroad line before reconnecting at a point near New Cumberland Park.
(Howell can be contacted at chowell@weirtondailytimes.com)