News

Here are streets the city will repave this summer

By Bill Moss, Published: August 8, 2018

Crews will pave 3½ miles of city streets this summer and fall as part of the city’s annual road improvement program funded by state and local money.

The repaving is concentrated in the area between Fleming Street and Hendersonville elementary and middle schools and from U.S. 64 to Ninth Avenue, including residential streets north of Ninth.

Tarheel Paving won a contract for $543,349 for the work, beating Southeastern Asphalt, which bid $617,281, and JLS paving, at $774,271. Funding for the work comes from state Powell Bill money, at around $370,000, and 1-cent of the city property tax levy, which raises about $170,000. Several years ago, the City Council voted to dedicate 1-cent of the local property tax revenue to boost the repaving work. Repaving priorities are based on a survey of road conditions.

“We went through several years ago and had folks rate our streets, worst to best, based on conditions,” City Manager John Connet said. “The current year is based on a study we did four or five years ago. We’re paving the worst streets first and we like to cluster them in an area. If there are others in the area, we add those until we spend all our money.”

Fleming Street will be repaved this year.Because that’s cheaper for the paving contractor, the city can get more miles of streets paved.

“Our goal is to get to every street every 15 years,” he said. “Some we do more than that.”

Motorists often ask about roads that are not city streets.

“They’ll call us and ask why haven’t we paved King and Church,” he said.

Those are maintained by the NCDOT.

“I’ve been told they’re coming up to be resurfaced but I haven’t seen anything yet,” Connet said.

The city work will get under way soon.

“I think most of it will be done in 60 days,” Connet said.

When a new 2-inch layer of asphalt would raise the pavement higher than curb and gutter and storm drains, the contractor grinds down 2 inches of the old pavement first – a process called milling — before pouring the fresh layer. The work also includes thermo yellow lines, crosswalk and stop bar markings and symbols for schools, turn lanes and no parking.

Here are the streets to be repaved:

• Ninth Avenue from Oakland to Orleans.
• Orleans from Ninth Avenue to Prince Street.
• Fleming from U.S. 64 to Asheville Highway.
• Eighth Avenue from Fleming to Oakland.
• Fassifern Court from Fleming to dead end.
• Schepper from Fleming to end of city maintenance.
• Prince Street from U.S. 64 to Orleans Avenue.
• Oak Street from Seventh Avenue to Ninth Avenue
• Thornton Place from Orleans to Tebeau and Thornton Place loop.
• Tebeau from Ninth Avenue to Knollwood.
• Seventh Avenue from Oak to Valley to Price to dead end.
• Valley Street from U.S. 64 to Hendersonville Middle School.
• Valley Street from U.S. 64 to Fifth Avenue.
• Knollwood from Orleans to Ninth Avenue.
• Holmes Street from Valley to Whitted.
• West Clark from Valley to Whitted.
• Oakhill Court from Fifth Avenue to dead end.