Public Works Dept. finishes paving of Forum Dr.

The long awaited milling, excavating and paving (six inches of asphalt) of Forum Drive from 18^th Street to Old St. James Road was completed about two months ahead of schedule last Friday by the Public Works Street Division. Realizing how many residents live along this stretch of Forum Drive and how important this east/west collector is, I’m very pleased that the project was completed as quickly and efficiently as it was.

I would first like to thank the residents and business owners in this area and those who use this section of Forum Drive for your continued patience, cooperation and understanding throughout the duration of the project. A special thanks also goes out to Steve Hargis, Director of Public Works; Dave Phelps, Street Construction Foreman; Gene Stroup, Project Coordinator, and all the members of the Street Department for all their hard work and effort.

No sooner will the Forum Drive paving project conclude, that the first phase of the Public Works Services Yard will begin this week with the construction of a new Vehicle Maintenance Facility and Sanitation Department building. The Public Works Services Yard is located at the end of McCutchen Drive behind the Rolla Recycling Center (located off Old St. James Road.)

In October 2005, the City purchased what was then known as the Meade Technology site, which consisted of 102.3 acres, for the development of the Public Works Services Yard. The City has since purchased an additional 30 acres for stormwater improvements and future expansion of industrial properties. The new Vehicle Maintenance facility (currently located at 18th and Old St. James Road), and new Sanitation Division building (currently located off Sharp Road near the Rolla Animal Shelter), will replace the badly deteriorating structures. The majority of the required funding (about $1.8 million) for the construction of the new buildings will be provided by the City’s Environmental Services’ reserve account. The construction of those new buildings, which was contracted out to Bales Construction, is currently underway and should be completed by the end of 2012.

Future phases of the Public Works Services Yard, based on available funding, include construction of a new Street Division building, and Animal Shelter, which are also currently located off Sharp Road. These projects have been designed and discussed on a few different occasions, and plans are underway, but construction will most likely take a few years to get off the ground, depending on the economic climate, and available funding sources.  

One other Public Works related project that is just around the corner is the paving (overlay of 2 inches of asphalt) of Forum Drive from 10th Street all the way to Hwy. 72. This paving project will begin sometime next week. We again ask for your patience and cooperation, as we post detour signs, and try to complete this project with minimum disruption and inconvenience to our residents and visitors. Forum Drive is a very heavily traveled north/south arterial road that thousands of cars, trucks and buses use on a daily basis, and we realize the importance of keeping this road in excellent condition.

In closing, I’d like to remind property owners who have recently remodeled or re-sided their homes, or whose address numbers are not visible, to ensure their street or property address is easily identifiable somewhere on the structure and visible from the street. This requirement is in keeping with the City’s Ordinance relating to Chapter 6 (Sec. 6-1, Article 1 – In General) “Street numbers required of property owners on dwelling or structure.”  If you have any questions relating to these requirements, please contact Rolla City Administration at 426-6948.

Enjoy the weekend and have a safe week!