One of the stretches of road is West Perrin Avenue from Plum Street to Wittenberg Avenue, where resident Angela Spencer said she knows people who avoid driving down the street altogether to miss the potholes.
“Anytime there’s a rain, it’s like a swimming pool out there,” she said. “It’s always going to cause you to have a tire pressure check or a wheel alignment, because you can’t come down this street on an even keel with your car.”
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Money for the road improvements will come from a tax levy Springfield residents approved in 2017.
The Neighborhood Street Program was started in 2018 as part of a commitment made to Springfield voters with the passage of the tax levy.
Before the levy, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said there was no focus on neighborhood streets since 2009. Neighborhood streets are defined as those that cannot receive funding at the state or federal level.
“In 2017, we told the people of Springfield that part of these dollars would go towards improving their neighborhood streets, so taking up the Neighborhood Street Program again in 2019 is a must,” Heck said. “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.”
Spencer said she was thrilled to learn that the pesky potholes she encounters every day were on the city’s radar.
“I appreciate the cooperation the city has given us in getting this taken care of — at last,” she said.
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Following the completion of the 2018 Neighborhood Street Program, the city held four public forums to hear input from residents about future projects. The city said that input helped city officials decide which streets would be included in future programs.
Heck said before any repaving can be done, the City will be working with utility companies to make sure everything under the roads is in working condition. He asked residents to bear with them while this prep work happens.
“It’s just about having patience,” said Joe Lewis, who lives on East Harding Road — another street on track to be repaved.
East Harding will be repaved between North Fountain Avenue and North Limestone Street.
Lewis has lived on the street for over 30 years, and said it’s been some time since he can remember it being repaved.
“Especially when (the potholes are) filled with water, you never know how deep they are and they can really surprise you,” he said. “But I realize that money’s tight everywhere and cities are doing the best they can.”
The city said the project is out to bid right now, so a cost hasn’t been finalized — but the timetable for the project is expected to start in May and finish up in October.
Streets named in 2019 project:
• El Camino (Santa Monica to Vester)
• Fulton (Nagley to Belmont)
• E. Harding (Fountain to Limestone)
• Kenwood (Belmont to Selma)
• Nagley (Sunset to Kenwood)
• Olympic (Home to Apollo)
• W. Perrin (Plum to Wittenberg)
• Rutland (Nagley to Belmont)
• Springmont (Oakleaf to Derr)
• Vester (El Camino to Derr)
• E. Ward (Fountain to Limestone)
Springfield News-Sun
The Springfield News-Sun is committed to covering major infrastructure improvements, such as road repaving in the Springfield and surrounding communities.
Facts & Figures
$2M: Minimum amount city of Springfield is spending on street repaving project
11: Number of streets being repaved
4: Number of forums city held in 2018 to get resident input on future street projects
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