City completes asphalt sealing project ahead of schedule

Upgrading, maintaining and enhancing the infrastructure of our City continues to be a high priority of the Rolla City Council and many municipalities across the state and nation. So I was pleased to see that the City of Rolla Public Works Department recently completed an asphalt sealing project that included most of the downtown business district, weeks in advance.

The first phase of the project began June 24 and included the microsurfacing of Vichy Road, Vienna Road, Fairburn Road, Williams Road and Houston Road. Recently paved streets include Rolla Street South of Hwy. 72, Main Street, 13th Street, and several streets running east to west in Rolla’s downtown business district, including Oak Street from 7th to 14th Streets, Elm Street from Hwy. 72 to 7th Street and Elm Street from 10th to 14th Streets.

One of the distinct advantages of the microsurfacing procedure that provides an approximate one-quarter-inch-thick pavement resurfacing is that the work can proceed at a much quicker pace than traditional asphalt overlays, which typically apply a minimum one – and one-half-inches of pavement resurfacing. Microsurfacing is also an economical alternative to hot asphalt mix overlays, saving the City and residents thousands that would otherwise be spent for the more expensive procedure.

The project would not have proceeded as rapidly as it did without the efficient work and collaboration by the City’s Public Works Department, Donelson Construction Company and the Rolla Police Department. Gene Stroup, Project Coordinator in the City’s Engineering Division deserves a big thanks for keeping the project ahead of schedule, as well as the members of Donelson Construction Company and the Rolla Police Department who provided traffic control assistance throughout the project. I would also like to thank the residents of Rolla and the Rolla business community, including merchants and business owners, for your patience and understanding during the microsurfacing of the streets. I’m sure you will agree that it was a very worthwhile project that will give a facelift to our downtown district, and some of the outlying streets that needed to be repaved.Another road paving project that is currently underway by the City’s Streets Department is the concrete paving of Ridgeview Road from the intersection of State Highway 63 and Missouri Route 72 to Walker Street. The first section of this project was completed last summer from the intersection to the alley west of Spillman Avenue. The second phase includes the concrete paving from the alley to Walker Street. Crews have been working on this section of Ridgeview Road for the past two weeks, and it should go a long way in enhancing this visible and well traveled corridor of the City.

In closing I’d like to remind the community that the Rolla City Council will be holding a special City Council Workshop this Monday, July 13 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers (located at 901 N. Elm Street) to discuss various components of the Rolla West plan and the topic of a park sales tax. The meeting is open to the public, and everyone in the community is welcomed and encouraged to attend the workshop.