City to fix two blocks of heavy use streets

Second and Third Streets between Railroad Avenue and Route 66 set for overhaul using county flood control money

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Two of the most heavily traveled blocks in town are set to be reconstructed in the coming weeks as part of a drainage project paid for through a county tax.

The work will take place on Second and Third streets between Railroad Avenue and Route 66. Besides removing and replacing the asphalt, the project will also include improvements to the drainage works on those blocks.

In March, Williams City Council members approved using about $200,000 of the county tax money, which must be used for flood control projects in the city, on the reconstruction of those two blocks and two other projects.

"Some of our roads wouldn't qualify for this money, because it does have to be where water runs, where drainage is," Vice Mayor Don Dent said at the June 26 council meeting.

The remaining two projects were sidewalk and gutter replacement at Hancock Avenue and Fifth Street and drainage improvements at Third Street and Grant Avenue.

However, the lowest bid for all four of those projects combined came out to $230,800, which was more than the original estimate of $199,588. As a result, city council members voted at their June 26 meeting to leave out the Third Street and Grant Avenue project in order to stay within the budget.

Public Works Director Kyle Christiansen had recommended that option in a staff report to the mayor and council.

"(The Hancock Avenue and Fifth Street project) has a high priority due to the existing crumbling condition of the curb and sidewalk," he wrote. "Not only is there a flooding condition, there is a pedestrian safety issue."

The council awarded the contract for the drainage projects to Prescott company Asphalt Paving and Supply. The Second and Third Street reconstruction is expected to cost about $137,055. The sidewalk and gutter replacement at Hancock and Fifth Street will cost about $34,370.

Additionally a new water main loop will be installed on the Second Street block during the reconstruction. The water main is estimated to cost $10,364.

"We try to have all the neighborhoods and even the downtown area on a loop system, and that way if you have to shut down water, you're not shutting down water to everyone," Christiansen explained.

City staff is determining whether the water department will be able to install the water main loop.

The work on the drainage projects is expected to start within a few weeks, and will take about three weeks to complete.