Damaged sections of pavement along Westwoods Road in Wright City will soon be repaired, at the cost of $41,912.

The Wright City Board of Aldermen voted on April 8 to hire Mid  River Asphalt at that price to replace multiple sections of pavement that were removed and filled with rock due to damage caused by winter conditions. City officials said the preparatory work for the repairs was done by Wright City’s public works crew, but the actual paving needs to be done by a contractor.

The damaged sections of roadway are between the Bell Road intersection and the area of the Lions Club and Wright City Hall. The repairs are separate from an upcoming project to completely rebuild Westwoods Road east of Indian Head Lodge Road.

Mid River Asphalt did not submit the lowest bid for the project, but Public Works Director Kyle Roettger said the company that did submit the lowest bid wouldn’t have met the city’s needs. Gevers Paving Company proposed making the pavement repairs for $41,400, but Roettger said the company’s proposal included less asphalt yardage than the city had asked for.

“Gevers would also require us to do traffic control, which would be a lot more (cost) on top of that. That’s not reflected in their estimate,” Roettger explained.

The other company bidding on the repairs was West Contracting, which submitted a bid of $69,500.

Street parking banned near high school

 Citing complaints from residents, the board of aldermen voted April 8 to ban parking on the north side of Westwoods Road across from Wright City High School. The stretch of road is regularly used as a sort of “overflow parking” during events at the school.

Aldermen voted unanimously to ban parking within 100 feet of Stephen Trail, the street that leads in and out of the subdivision across from the school. Residents of the neighborhood had complained of poor visibility when they’re trying to exit and vehicles are parked on Westwoods Road.

No Parking signs have been ordered and will be put up when they arrive, City Administrator Jim Schuchmann said.

Police seeking new vehicles

 Police Chief Matt Eskew is asking the board of aldermen to consider instituting a system of replacing police cars with new vehicles after a set period of time. The city currently buys used vehicles for its police department on an as-needed basis.

“We pick them up with 55,000 miles on them. The best portion of that vehicle’s life is pretty much expended by the time we get it,” Eskew commented. “We still tend to get another 60,000-70,000 miles on those cars, but we’re missing out on a really good chunk of life that includes warranty.” 

Eskew said having a warranty on some of the vehicles in the police fleet would reduce maintenance costs that the department currently has to deal with.

The chief is proposing a nine-year rotation for vehicles, where one-third of the vehicles would be replaced every three years. For Wright City, that would mean replacing five vehicles every three years. Using this schedule, Eskew  said he believes the police department can replace vehicles less often and do less maintenance by paying more up front for new vehicles. 

Depending how many new vehicles are purchased at once, the city might have to seek financing options rather than purchasing them outright, Eskew said.

The board of aldermen and city administration are currently reviewing the vehicle purchasing proposal.