East Main St. sidewalk replaced

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By David Meade

A sidewalk project that has been the subject of an ADA complaint by a Williamston resident has been replaced.

Tim Williams has tried to get the sidewalk in front of his home on East Main St. repaired or replaced for about five years, according to Mayor Mack Durham, and an opportunity to have it repaired at a very good price while a contrator was doing other work for the town led to the project being done last week.

Durham said the town was having a concrete slab poured at the town’s Waste Water Treatment Plant for a caustic chemical tank and an eye wash station. Due to a required minimum concrete delivery, there was enough concrete to pour both projects.

A deal with the contractor to pour the slabs and complete the sidewalk repair at the same time made both projects possible.

According to Durham, Wham Bros. Construction agreed to repair the 200 ft. of sidewalk at a price of $3,450. The sidewalk was replaced from the top of the hill on East Main St. to the intersection of East Main and Williams St. at Hamilton St.

The work at the WWTP was paid for as part of a Federal grant for that project, however the sidewalk project will come out of the street department budget, the mayor said.

When asked by The Journal why that sidewalk was repaired when there are others that appear worse or in need of repair or replacement, Durham said, “Tim has been trying to get that done for four or five years. It has been on the list for some time now.”

Durham added, “There is a lot of sidwalk work that needs to be done in the town. We can’t do all at the same time.”

Durham said he is planning to ask councilmembers to come up with a list of projects they would like to have done in each of the town’s four Wards.

Once they have a prioritized list, they will work on a project in one ward and when it is finished, begin work on another project in another ward. “Once we have a list of repairs, we will prioritize them and get to them as we can,” the mayor said.

Durham said he is meeting with school officials next week about the Safe Routes to Schools program and possible sidewalk projects in the town.

The program makes Federal Transportation funds available for local projects, he said.

The sidewalk project on East Main also had a minor issue of the contractor not having a business license at the time to be doing work in the town. When pointed out, the contractor obtained the necessary license for the town, the mayor said.