Local streets fixed through state program

PHOTOGRAPHER: Jessica Harding

Road work on the city’s local streets is part of a state-run program funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

About $3.9 million was allocated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for projects in Little Falls, Gloversville, Johnstown and Amsterdam, according to Alice Romanych, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.

The bids for the projects came in at $2.9 million, with Albany-based Callanan Industries putting in the lowest bid, Romanych said. Despite the fact that local roads will be paved, a state inspector and engineers are overseeing the work.

In Amsterdam, two sections of Clizbe Avenue are under construction from the town line to Law Place and from Ellsworth Street to Locust Avenue. Guy Park Avenue, between Market and Clinton Streets, and Edson Street, between Church Street and Mason Avenue, are also part of the program.

The state is also continuing its road work on Route 30 and had reduced the roadway near the city line to one lane at the beginning of last week, tying up traffic along the busy corridor. Clizbe Avenue in the city is currently reduced to one lane and is dug into deeply on the drivable lane, making getting through the heavily traveled road difficult.

Cars attempting to bypass the roadway through Shuttleworth Park were again deterred Wednesday after a truck broke in half near the baseball field as it attempted to unload about 46,500 pounds of sand. The entire contents spilled out. DPW workers sat at the park’s entrance and directed motorists back to Clizbe Avenue.

A timeline for the work was not available Thursday because Romanych could not reach project managers in the field.

City officials did not embark on a roads program last season because Department of Public Works crews were too busy preparing roadways for the state’s project.

The city received about $405,000 for the 2009 roads program, which is funded through the state’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). Funding is allocated each year for the program, but because the state Legislature has yet to pass a budget it is unclear whether there will be any money allocated for the program this year.

Romanych said leftover money from the previous year is typically available for the next year. She said a municipality has never lost money for not using it. But, she said, “this is an odd year.”

Ray Halgas, supervisor of the city’s Department of Public Works, said the city’s Engineering Department is currently drawing up estimated costs for a roads program this year and getting a list of possible streets to repave.