First Street/Old Exeter road project is complete

As many of you are already aware, our First Street/Old Exeter Road

project is, for the most part, complete. Our contractors finished just

under two weeks early and, in my opinion, they all did a fantastic job.

The goal of this project, from the beginning, was to "do it right." I

suppose "doing it right" would have included a bicycle lane and sidewalks

down both sides. Unfortunately, the expense to add these additions

would have made this project run over a million dollars -- money we

just don't have. Thus, we "did it right" within the confines of our resources

at present and the results are still outstanding.

You might notice that Old Exeter Road is now uniformally widened to 30

feet from side to side. New curb and gutter has been added in all areas

where it previously didn't exist. Most every property owner along this road

has received a brand new driveway apron, gravel or asphalt entrance, and

improved storm water drainage. In relation, we have installed many new

storm water runoff boxes, culverts and drains in key areas of Old Exeter

Road to ensure future storm water is routed to the appropriate drainage

areas.

The big ticket item was the asphalt overlay that you are now driving on. We

added at least 2" of brand new compressed asphalt along First Street/Old

Exeter Road. Many other areas (after milling) required thicker amounts of

asphalt. Additionally, many have noticed the new left-hand turn lane next to

Fastrip at Main Street. This new lane will help traffic flow onto Main Street

and is a great addition to the project.

Overall, I am very proud of this, my second major, project as your city administrator.

We had many men who worked very hard to ensure the end result is what we

wanted it to be. I would like to thank the following people for their contributions

to this successful project and I ask that each of you, should you see them out

and about the community, to thank them also:

Hutchens Construction

Vaughn Dirt Works

Seven Valley's Construction

Bishop's Construction

Roger Berg with Scott Consulting Engineers

Cassville Public Works Crews

I would also like to acknowledge the residents who live along First Street/Old

Exeter Road for their patience in awaiting the end result. I hope you are very

proud of the street you now have in front of your property for it was the result

of a collaboration of many who wanted to create something we all could be

proud of for many years to come.

I look forward to many more projects like this as the community grows and

prospers.

Mike Hayslip, City Administrator