However, the town has already started work on Phase II of the project, which will extend the sidewalk from Fourth Street, where Phase I ended, to 11th Street on the west end of Meeker.
“Good progress is being made on Phase II,” Meszaros said. “The CDOT work is all done.”
Meszaros said Phase II is being paid for by the town instead of going for grants because there are some major projects that CDOT will be funding, including an entirely new bridge and major road work in Glenwood Springs.
“We could probably put in for a grant like we did on Phase I, but it would likely take a long time with all the paper work and with the CDOT regulations,” Meszaros said. “We have CDOT’s prior plan approval, so the council figured we just ought to continue the sidewalk project on our own.”
Duckels Construction out of Steamboat Springs, the company that did Phase I, will continue to do the rest of the job, he said.
The city has budgeted the remainder of the project at $700,000, which includes the engineering, quality control and project management, Meszaros said, adding that the town expects the work to cost about $100,000 per block.
He also said that no major crosswalks or intersection work is expected but that there will be minor work done at the intersections where there are water intakes.
Regarding signage or stop lights, Meszaros said that decision will be made by the state.
“This is a state highway, so CDOT will decide on the signage, and I have no idea what that will be,” Meszaros said. “The town and the economic development groups have spoken about a controlled crosswalk, possibly at Fifth Street, where they may put in a light,” he said. “I would expect that to be at least a couple years off.”
During Phase II of the Market Street Project, there should be no stoppage of traffic, Meszaros said.
“The workers should be on the side of the road, working on the curbs and sidewalks and shouldn’t interfere with the the actual driving on Market Street,” he said. “There also should be no closure of curb cuts to get to local businesses.”
Meszaros said the hope is that the sidewalks and curbs, which are being done exclusively on the north side of Market Street, will be completed by November—depending on the weather.
“We would like to have it done by October, and even though this is a bigger project than Phase I, Duckels is moving faster,” Meszaros said. “Also, there isn’t quite as much involvement from CDOT, even though they will still be inspecting the work.
“The unknown factor, as always, is the weather,” he said. “There are temperature limitations on when concrete and asphalt can be done, so we will be keeping an eye on that because it would be great if we could complete all the work before it gets too cold.
“The entire project isn’t cheap, but it won’t be getting any cheaper,” Meszaros said. “I expect it will all go smoothly.”
