Although it was supposed to be complete around mid-March, a new parking lot in downtown Roseboro, that has been delayed twice, will finally see workers back on the job as early as next week.
“We first started talking about this over six months ago,” explained Mayor David Alexander. “But then we ran into a paperwork issue from the state that had to be re-submitted and then we ran into a construction issue.”
The project, whose site is located on N. West Railroad Street in the lot next to Spell Furniture, is estimated to cost $84,102 and is being funded through a Rural Development Grant.
The parking lot will bring much needed parking spaces to the downtown area and help old and new downtown businesses keep their customers in town, the mayor stressed.
“We have needed the parking lot for sometime now,” said Alexander. “I am really happy that it is finally get back on track because the businesses really need to have those spaces for their customers. People need to drive through Roseboro and be able to find a parking spot. We don’t want people to have to drive up and down downtown trying to find a spot, we want then to come in and be able to enjoy our downtown area.”
Before work was expected to begin on the 1 1/2-acre empty lot back in February, a snafu with the grant’s paperwork forced a halt to the project before it even began. By the time the paperwork was re-submitted and construction was set to begin again on the parking lot just three weeks ago, the decision was made to have Sandy’s Hauling and Backhoe Service replace sewer lines on Gold Street, explained Alexander.
“Those sewer lines needed to be bigger,” he said. “They were already working on it and completed another set of sewer lines (on Railroad Street) before they were to start the parking lot project. But the board decided it was more important to get those lines done on Gold Street because they continued clogging up and disrupting the residents.”
The sewer project, which is being paid for through the Small Town Economic Project grant, will widen sewer lines from five inches to eight inches to keep the lines from being so easily backed up. It is expected to cost approximately $19,000.
Alexander said the Gold Street sewer project is expected to be completed by the end of today, making way for the construction crews to begin clearing out the vacant lot that sits just behind the downtown businesses.
“I am very excited about getting both projects complete,” the mayor noted. “We are hoping that work will begin again on Monday on the parking lot, because that really needs to get going. We have a lot of work to do after it is complete too. We want to have landscaping in there to make it look really nice for our citizens.”
Work on the parking lot is expected to be completed by the middle of September.
To reach Doug Clark call 910-592-8137 ext. 123 or email to sisports@heartlandpublications.com.
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