The city of Sweet Home has unveiled conceptual plans for improvement of Long Street from 22nd Avenue to 35th Avenue next year.
The city invited Long Street residents to the City Council Chamber Thursday night. Sept. 24, for questions and answers and a look at early conceptual designs.
The improvements include a sidewalk from 22nd Avenue to 35th Avenue along the south side of the street, said city Senior Engineering Technician Joe Graybill. Sidewalks will be added to much of the north side of the street, skipping primarily the sections with big drop-offs, such as the intersection of Long Street and Mountain View Road, a section west of Clark Mill and a couple of other stretches.
Any time a retaining wall is necessary, Graybill said, the price goes up.
The project also includes bicycle lanes, and along the south side of the street, the city will add a swale, a pollution-control feature.
“There’s all kinds of minerals and particulates that need to be dealt with,” Graybill said. Runoff from the streets is filtered through the swale, and pollutants are removed from the water.
The project will attempt to maintain, and in some cases improve, parking where it already exists along Long Street, Graybill said.
In front of Hawthorne School, people will be able to pull over into the loading zone on the north side of the street as is the practice now, Graybill said. The school district will modify its parking lot, which extends slightly into the street right-of-way, but Graybill doesn’t expect it to disrupt the use of the parking lot, located on the south side of the street in front of the school.
Construction is planned to begin in spring 2010, Graybill said.
“Three to four months would be plenty of time for them to do it,” said engineer Greg Thiel of Northwest Engineers.
The city is not anticipating any road closures, Graybill said. “It can’t close Long Street. It’s too important a street to close.”
The work is all in the shoulder, he said.
“I see a lot of cones and pushing over the lane,” Thiel said. Striping will be the only time to expect traffic interruptions.
The entire project has an estimate of $500,000, including a contingency fund, Graybill said. Engineering estimates are typically high, and the total cost will likely be lower.
The actual price will depend on how busy contractors are and how hungry they are for work, Thiel said.
The project is funded by a $364,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation, Graybill said. The city matched it with $60,000. If additional funds are required, the city will be able to provide more funding through its existing budget.