Wright City alderman approved the final part of the Stuermann Road construction project while a city official says more work needs to be done to Roelker Road.
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Wright City aldermen approved the final part of the Stuermann Road project.
The board approved $7,076 to stripe the road from Highway H to Falcon’s Crest during the July 27 meeting.
The work will be completed by TraMar Contracting, which was the only company who bid for the job.
Wright City Director of City Services Kyle Roettger said the new bid was less than what they were originally quoted. Initially, TraMar had quoted the city $2 per linear foot for the striping work. The new bid was $1 per linear foot.
“So I think we’re getting a pretty good deal on it,” Roettger said, noting that he expected the striping work to begin the week of July 31.
“Nice,” Mayor Michelle Heiliger said.
When the striping is completed, it will bring to an end the saga of “the worst residential road in the city,” as Alderman Ramiz Hakim called it in February.
“I'm especially delighted to see the road's transformation given that I drive it daily and can now personally experience its improvement, along with my fellow citizens. But beyond personal use, this accomplishment contributes to the greater community by enhancing safety, reducing vehicle wear-and-tear, and improving transportation efficiency overall for the homes tucked away off Stuermann,” Hakim said in a later email to the Record.
The project was paid for using special $500 fees that were charged to homebuilders developing the two subdivisions. About $100,000 in fees had been collected when aldermen approved the road project earlier this year.
There are more than 250 homes in the two subdivisions.
Aldermen approved a $92,000 bid from Mid River Asphalt in April to complete the repairs. The project included widening the street and construction of a drainage channel.
Work on the project began June 8.
Roettger told aldermen there will be $4,773.98 remaining in the fund once project work is complete.
“I'd like to express my gratitude to everyone involved, from city staff to the construction company and, most importantly, to our residents for their patience and support throughout this project,” Hakim said. “As we await the final touch of the stripe being put down, I am confident that the renewed Stuermann Road will serve as a lasting testament to what we can achieve together for the benefit of Wright City if we work together, communicate effectively, and have patience.”
Roettger also told aldermen that four additional sections of Roelker Road near the construction site of the new Wright City High School are deteriorating.
Those sections will be addressed the week of July 31. The public works department will dig those sections of road out, replacing them with gravel similar to the other sections of road affected by the heavy construction traffic.
The Roelker Road deterioration was first discussed at the April 27 board of aldermen meeting.
At the time, more than 1,600 dump trucks of gravel had entered the construction site, causing serious damage to the road.
Aldermen balked at the $100,000 cost to temporarily fix the road, which will be torn out and replaced entirely as the last part of the high school construction project.
“We’ve got to figure out a different alternative to that,” Hakim said at the time.
Roettger came back to aldermen two weeks later with a plan to replace the deteriorating sections of road with gravel. He said in May that the gravel fix was holding, though the public works department was monitoring and adding gravel as necessary.
About the author: Jason Koch is the editor of The Warren County Record, and covers local news and government for the newspaper. He has won multiple awards from both the Indiana and Illinois APME and from the Illinois Press Association. He can be reached at 636-456-6397 or at jason@warrencountyrecord.com
