Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Without further ado

Phase 2 of Heritage Corridor begins


By JON DUVAL
Express Staff Writer

Burks Excavation workers begin the process of demolishing the section of Fourth Street between Leadville Avenue and Main Street on Tuesday. This signifies the start of the Fourth Street Heritage Corridor Phase 2 construction, which is scheduled to be completed by July 2, in time for Ketchum’s Fourth on Fourth celebration. Photo by Willy Cook

After a quickly resolved snafu pushed the scheduled start back by a couple of weeks, Phase 2 of the Fourth Street Heritage Corridor project began Tuesday, April 29, as contractors fenced off the block between Main Street and Leadville Avenue to prepare for demolition.

At a pre-construction meeting on Monday, April 28, City Engineer Steven Yearsley, City Interim Administrator Jim Jaquet and project manager Travis Nisson, from Burks Excavation, presented the construction schedule to the public.

If all goes according to plan, Phase 2 will be completed by July 2, in time for the city's annual Fourth on Fourth celebration.

The second phase of the three-stage Fourth Street Heritage Corridor project will run from Leadville Avenue west across Main Street to Washington Avenue.

Last summer the city began with construction on the two blocks from Walnut to Leadville avenues as the first part of its plan to create a more pedestrian-friendly town center by widening sidewalks, narrowing Fourth Street and adding new street lights and places for public art.

Eventually, the completed project will span the entire length of the eight-block street from Spruce to Second Avenue, costing an estimated $4.5 million.

Yearsley explained that during the first week of the project, the existing sidewalks, curbs and street will be torn up and removed on Phase 2's eastern block.

The Atkinsons' parking lot will remain open for a week while work on the East Avenue water main, between Fourth and Fifth streets is completed, then the lot will be closed off for about two weeks.

It's estimated that the intersection of Leadville Avenue and Fourth Street will be closed until May 19.

As well, the parking area on the west side of the Coffee Grinder will be closed for a week as Idaho Power continues undergrounding power lines in the alleyway between Main Street and Leadville Avenue, from Sun Valley Road to Fifth Street.

Kim Rogers, the city liaison for this phase of the project, said business owners could contact her at 726-7819 for information on coordinating deliveries in the alleyway or for questions regarding signage, which the city will provide to those businesses affected by the construction.

The parking spaces on the north side of the Coffee Grinder will remain open, though the sole entry and exit will be from Leadville Avenue.

Once demolition is completed on the east side of Main Street, the contractors will continue to the west side, closing down the Fourth Street entrances to the alley between Main Street and Washington Avenue.

Nisson said work will take place from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and that Main Street will be closed on a few occasions, but only at night.

To keep the public informed about the project's progress, the contractors will hold a meeting every Monday throughout the course of the construction, taking place at 8 a.m. in the parking lot behind the Coffee Grinder, to detail the planned schedule for that week.




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.