IRONWOOD, MI - Wednesday, April 10, 2008 - Yesterday evening at 5:00 PM CDT, Ironwood City Manager, Scott Erickson, addressed a crowd of about thirty people to answer any questions and address any concerns regarding the complete reconstruction of Alfred Wright Boulevard (AWB). The 0.68 mile reconstruction project, which will begin once school is out for the summer, includes: concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk ramps, water main, hot mix asphalt paving, and pavement markings on AWB from Lime Street to McLeod Avenue in the City of Ironwood.

Erickson explained to those in attendance that the AWB Project was actually a Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project. MDOT was in charge of reviewing and accepting the bids, but the City of Ironwood will oversee the reconstruction of the Boulevard.

Erickson told the crowd that he was pleased to see that a couple of local contractors were awarded the contract based on the bids they submitted to MDOT. Ross Peterson will be the general contractor for the job, and Ruotsala Concrete Construction will be assisting Peterson. Other local contractors submitted bids to the MOT, but Peterson's bid of $893,913.60 was the lowest bid on the project. Also bidding were Angelo Luppino, Inc. and Snow Country Contracting, Inc.

Coleman Engineering, Erickson pointed out, will be doing the project management for the City of Ironwood. Don Bertels will be onsite periodically to coordinate the City work that will need to be done on the project, Erickson said.

"We're going to do the water main first," Ross Peterson explained, "We'll do all the deep work to let the trench settle down as much as we can. We'll do as much running on it, this summer, as we can because a harder base will reflect a better blacktop job. The last thing we'll probably do is the individual intersections." Peterson indicated that his crew will begin construction on McLeod Avenue and continue towards Lime.

Erickson reminded the audience that the project will begin as soon as school gets out for the summer and needs to be completed before school begins again in the fall. He said, it's not really a lot of time to get a project this large completed, so the crews will be working steadily to finish the job.

The City Manager explained that the new water main that will be installed should increase the water pressure in the immediate area. He also pointed out that new sanitary sewer lines will be installed. He said the old lines were inspected using a video camera, and that inspection showed that replacement was in order.

According to Scott Erickson, new sidewalks will be installed on the east side of the boulevard, and a walking / biking trail will be installed on the west side. The trails are generally wider than sidewalks, usually about eight feet. The trail will begin after the power station, and will continue to Lime Street.

"In the future, we'd like to extend that all the way out to Norrie Park!" said Erickson.

In addition to the sidewalks and trails, new curbs and gutters as well as some new storm sewer catch basins will be installed. Xcel Energy plans on relocating several utility poles along the west side of the boulevard to allow for the wider trail.

An audience member asked how wide the current sidewalks were on the west side of the street. Erickson indicated that they are five feet wide. Erickson was asked if the new trails were going to be narrowing the boulevard or cutting into the people's front yards. Erickson explained that all changes will be made within the City's legal right-of-way.

Another citizen asked about tree removal. Erickson explained that some trees on the west side of the street might need to be removed. Some of the larger trees are currently interfering with the power lines, and if the utilities poles are relocated, some trees may need to be removed. He told the audience that the City would gladly place new trees elsewhere if trees on private property need to be removed.

Concern was expressed that the new trail might interfere with peoples' driveways. Erickson assured the concerned citizen that it shouldn't be a problem because the trail isn't that much wider than a sidewalk, and all driveways along the boulevard will be "matched in" with curb and gutter.

"Once we have the right-of-way staked in, if you have a question, please feel free to contact me!" Erickson said.

Mayor Bruce Noren pointed out that individuals along the boulevard will have a unique opportunity to get the personal driveways or sidewalks upgraded at a substantial savings due to the fact the contractors will already be onsite. Erickson explained that several homeowners along Lowell Street took advantage of that fact while that street was being reconstructed last summer.

It was asked if the manholes along the boulevard would all be brought up to the same grade, and Erickson assured the audience that they would be.

Re-routed traffic was also a concern several in attendance. Wear and tear on the detoured roads were a concern, as well as the added traffic itself. Erickson was asked if the side streets were going to be resurfaced as a result of the project. Erickson told the audience that there simply wasn't enough money in the budget to do that. An audience member asked why that wasn't included into the cost of the project. Erickson explained that MDOT does not allow for such things for smaller residential streets, and the City simply doesn't have the funding to pave detours.

On women in the audience said, "We don't want dust! And if we get dust, we want you to lower our water bills so we can wash our houses!" Another audience member pointed out that years ago, the fill dirt used on many streets in town was iron ore fill. The dust raised in previous projects left a red residue on several houses, and that residue could not be cleaned off of the siding. He explained that his mother's house had to be repainted because the red dust could not be washed off of her siding.

Erickson was asked if the guardrails would be replaced along the walking / biking trail. Erickson said he would look into that.

Erickson told the audience that another meeting will be held onsite about a week before the actual construction begins. He told those in attendance that any further concerns or questions could be addressed at that time.

Several members of the audience stated how grateful they were to have Alfred Wright Boulevard repaired.

Don Bertels told the audience that special incentives were added to this project through grant initiatives, and Erickson elaborated. Originally, Erickson explained, the Alfred Wright Boulevard project was scheduled for 2010. The State offered $90,000+ (Local Jobs Today) in addition to the previously agreed upon $350,000+ MDOT funding if the project date were to be moved up. The idea is to stimulate jobs in local economies.

When asked what the City's share of the AWB project was, Erickson replied "The difference between our grant money and our bid!" City Commissioner Tom Laabs said that the City's match was approximately 50%. He went on to say that the low interest rate on the loans (4%), for only one year, combined with the match was a pretty good deal for the City. Erickson said he was very pleased with the fact that they were able to get the grant money to do this project especially considering how difficult grants are to get these days.

The audience was invited to view the plans for the project, and the meeting ended shortly thereafter.

AUDIO

Jim Albert