Several streets are getting new surfaces as part of this year’spaving work, and others other scheduled for overlay later thisyear, said Jimmy Furlow, traffic supervisor for the city.

Furlow said $200,000 has been allocated for the work thatstarted last week on West Congress Street. That street wascompleted and work started Friday on High School Street.

Plans are to pave sections of one or two roads in each ward,Furlow said. “We’re going to shoot for that, if the money holdsout,” he said.

Aldermen have prioritized at least three streets in theirrespective wards. Which ones get the work will be determined byconditions of the roads, funding and other factors, Furlowsaid.

“We’re getting with the aldermen to find out what streets needto be done in their wards,” Furlow said.

PRIORITIES

According to work orders, priorities include:

* Ward 1 – Enterprise Street.

* Ward 2 – A section of Court Street near thehigh school.

* Ward 3 – Rogers Street and East ChippewaStreet.

* Ward 4 – Spring Street.

* Ward 5 – An area near Halbert Heights Roadand Magee Drive.

* Ward 6 – Vivian Merritt Street.

Streets affected by last year’s Whitworth Fire Loop project arealso slated to receive paving improvements. A total of $300,000 wasbudgeted for paving this year, and some of that will be usedlater.

“We’re keeping $100,000 to do the other paving projects laterthis year,” said Furlow, who did not have an exact date on when thework would be done.

The city funds will be used to provide a 20 percent match onover $400,000 in federal funds accumulated by the city fortransportation improvements. The federal funds, though, can only beused on designated routes.

Furlow said Congress Street, which was affected by the fire loopproject, and High School Street, which needed some drainage workrelated to the high school expansion, are not on the urbandevelopment route. Therefore, city funds have to be used.

“It can’t be done any other way than with city funds,” Furlowsaid.

Furlow said he expects the paving activity to continue foranother week and a half to two weeks.