By Dedra Cordle
Staff Writer
Jackson Township officials say that motorists should be prepared to see an influx of orange construction barrels on their roadways throughout the remainder of the year.
According to Administrator Shane Farnsworth, the county engineer’s office is expected to begin the first of three planned roadway improvement projects at the end of July.
“We believe that the activity on our roadways will be ramping up here soon and we want our residents and the motorists who access our roadways to be aware of what will be taking place,” he said.
The planned roadway improvement projects will be small in scope, said Farnsworth, but there are more than a dozen improvements planned for the current and future paving schedule. He added that the number of projects that will be taking place could cause some headaches for residents who live nearby and for those who frequently travel on the residential roads.
“While we do not expect to see any road closures with these projects, we do expect to see some one-lane restrictions while the contractors are out there working on the roads,” said Farnsworth.
The first of the three planned roadway improvement projects will be the resurfacing of these roads:
•Anglebrook
•Borror Road from Patzer Ditch to State Route 104
•Deer Path Drive
•Edwards Drive
•Hyde Road east of State Route 62
•Hyde Road west of State Route 62
The second phase of the planned roadway improvement project are the chipping and sealing of these township roads:
•Betty Lane
•Cabin Road
•Holton Run Court
•Marlane Court
•South Hoover Road Spur
•Rocky Creek Drive
•Thrailkill Road
•Vern Place
Farnsworth said that five streets in the Briar Hill Subdivision are also slated to be resurfaced during this phase of the project.
The third planned roadway improvement project is the installation of two speed tables and nine speed humps in the Emersonia subdivision. The county engineer’s office has recommended that these traffic calming measures be installed at these locations:
•One speed table will be installed at the intersection of Lois Drive and Nedra Street. The second speed table will be installed at the intersection of McComb Road and Charlemagne Street.
•Three speed humps will be installed on Hyde Road – two of which will be located east of Nedra Street and one east of Lois Drive.
•Two speed humps will be installed on McComb Road – one of which will be located north of Charlemagne Street while the other will be located north of Chateau Street.
•Two speed humps will be installed on Nedra Street – one of which will be located west of McComb Road while the other will be located east of Lois Drive.
•Two speed humps will be installed on Charlamagne Street – one of which will be located west of McComb Road while the other will be located east of Lois Drive.
Farnsworth said several of these residential roadways, in particular the courts, will be resurfaced via a “fog seal” application method.
“This is kind of a new application method that is being used throughout the country now,” he said. “It is supposed to be very effective at resealing the existing pavement while not being as expensive as the more traditional method.”
Farnsworth said he expects the three planned roadway improvement projects to be completed by the end of 2023 but added that sometimes planned roadway improvement project schedules can be changed due to unforeseen circumstances like staffing issues or a delay in the procurement of supplies and materials.
“We have had our planned roadway improvement projects be delayed until the following year before,” he said, “but we do believe these projects will start this summer and be completed by the end of the year.”
