A big portion of Highland Avenue will receive a major upgrade this summer.
Last night, the Pierre City Commission approved a contract with Brosz Engineering to finish the design and engineering work to rebuild Highland between Wynoka Avenue and Second Street, as well as the one block of Second St. that connects Highland and Euclid Avenues.
“We plan to rebuild the whole thing –curb to curb,” said John Childs, City Engineer. He went on to say that the aboveground work was just one piece of a much larger project.
“When we completely rebuild a street, we also look at underground utilities,” said Childs. “We’ll replace a 70-year old water line as part of the project.”
New curb, gutter, and asphalt surface will also be constructed as part of the project. The Highland Avenue project is scheduled in front another, even bigger project, that’s on the horizon.
“The state is planning to rebuild Euclid Avenue in the next couple of years,” said Childs. “That means neighboring Highland Avenue will likely pick up some additional traffic. The improvements will help it accommodate the increased load.”
Weather pending, the project is scheduled to start this spring and staff anticipates it will take the full summer to complete the project. All told, the six-block project is estimated to cost $1.4 million.
“The good news is, once complete, the underground utilities are expected to have a useful life of about 70 years.”
Each year, the City staff analyzes street, utility and other infrastructure conditions to prioritize and schedule street projects. The City Commission set aside more than $3 million dollars for street maintenance and improvements in 2021.