Beacon Avenue, Division Street impacted
By Scott Bellile
The city of New London will hold public meetings to inform residents on two upcoming road construction projects.
An open house regarding the 2018 Division Street reconstruction will take place at city hall from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23.
Four nights later, another open house about the widening of East Beacon Avenue will be held at city hall from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27.
The Division Street reconstruction project is scheduled for summer 2018. Because Division Street is also County Trunk D, the $1.6 million project will be shared between the city and Waupaca County.
Seven soil borings along Division Street will be performed this spring at points between Wolf River Avenue and Oak Street in preparation. This process will determine the required stone thickness for the project.
“We can verify what thickness the asphalt currently is and if there is any areas where there might be concrete underneath the asphalt,” New London Public Works Director Jeff Bodoh explained at a Feb. 7 board of public works meeting. “So this is basically to make sure we know what’s actually out there.”
As for the Beacon Avenue project, that will widen the stretch of road between Mill and Montgomery streets by 9 feet. The road must accommodate an increase in traffic that is expected after Commonwealth Development finishes constructing four low-to-moderate-income townhouses containing 40 total living units in early 2018.
City Administrator Hager said the purpose of the East Beacon Avenue project is “to accommodate the development and also to address some concerns expressed by the public in the neighborhood about the quality and width of the road.”
The East Beacon Avenue roadwork is set to go to bid in March with the lowest bidder approved by the city council in April, and work beginning after that.
The city will also replace all properties’ sanitary laterals from the sewer main to the city’s right of way, roughly 30 feet. The city will assess the properties and require property owners to cover the costs. If property owners wish to replace the remaining lateral between the right of way and their homes, they must arrange that themselves and cover the costs for that as well.
Payment options will be available for property owners who may need extra time to pay for these costs.