Sidewalk repairs enter fourth week

By: 
Gray Hughes
Hill City Prevailer News editor

The Hill City sidewalk project has entered its fourth week.

At a construction meeting on Monday, representatives from Hill City, the South Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) and Complete Concrete (the company responsible for doing the work) met to discuss the project.

“I’ve heard positive things about the project so far,” said Kathy Skorzewski, Hill City mayor.

Part of the work being done will require water to be shut down to some businesses in the central business district, said Keith Winter of the DOT. If that happens, the shutdowns will be in the morning and afternoon.

With this project, Skorzewski has requested that Brett McMacken, city administrator for Hill City, be present as much as possible, which, Skorzewski said, has been positively accepted by businesses.

McMacken will go into the businesses and update them on the progress of the project, Skorzewski said.

“It is making something that could be horrible into something we can live with,” she added.

She then wanted to know if the crews are on schedule because the perception in town is that they are ahead of schedule.

David Buck, representing Complete Concrete, said he feels like they are right on schedule.

“When we go to the upper level of the sidewalk, though, things might slow down,” he said.

Skorzewski reiterated that the perception is the crews are ahead of schedule, and they should “keep it up.”

When it comes to doing the top section, Winter said they will do one big section at a time and will start by knocking the corner out by Granite Sports to install the handicapped ramp.

The phase the crews are working on now, phase one, began last week after work on phase four was complete.

Overall, phase one is expected to take five weeks in all.

“Phase three is the longest,” Buck said. “But it will be the easiest.”

That is because, he said, there is an existing retaining wall in that portion.

During phase two, he added, a bump out to match the one already built at the Mangy Moose and Jon Crane Gallery during phase four will be built. Phase two is scheduled to last four weeks.

In regards to lowering the speed limit from 25 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour on Main Street through the construction zone, Skorzewski said people were pleased to find out about that.

People were also pleased, she said, that traffic was only impacted during phase four and that parking is readily available in town now.

While progress is good, Buck said they can only work as much as Mother Nature allows.

The next sidewalk meeting is scheduled for 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 30 at Hill City Senior Center.

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