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College Avenue is in the first phase of its $2.14 million re-paving project – finally. The removal of the old pot-holed pavement began this week and the actual paving is scheduled to begin July 17. 

But for the most part until the re-paving begins, traffic will continue to move along College Avenue – although more slowly in construction areas. The entire cost of the project will be paid for with federal dollars. 

On Monday, construction workers at Parker Street and at Ashby Avenue were removing old pavement and digging about 18 inches deep with backhoes to prepare bus stops for new concrete pads. 

Glen Carloss, public works project engineer, said the concrete provides a rigid pavement for the acceleration and the stopping of the buses. The concrete won’t “shove or heave” like asphalt. 

He said a valley gutter will be installed across Parker Street. The gutter, Carloss explained, is another concrete structure that allows conduction of water along the surface of the gutter. 

It will take water from the northeast corner of Parker to the southeast corner, said Carloss. When it is installed traffic will be diverted to an adjacent street for about seven days. 

He said the crews will soon begin to concentrate on wheelchair ramps, curbs, sidewalks and gutters. Major construction will begin on the east side of the street and move south from Dwight Way to Ashby Avenue. 

In a Perspective article in Monday’s edition of the Daily Planet, Anne Marselis Whyte, secretary of the St. John’s Neighbor’s Group, said “a turbulent pool of water at the intersection of Garber Street and College Avenue builds up.” She said the water is pumped out of St. John’s Church underground garage. 

Carloss responded that the church has the legal right to pump out water, and said there may be a flow of water when its raining but not a pool. 

“We have been meeting with neighborhood groups and merchants since November and getting feedback on all the issues brought up,” he said. 

He said an issue of water being pumped from St. John’s garage never came up in a neighborhood meeting. 

Councilmember Kriss Worthington, whose district includes portions of College Avenue, said he handed Whyte an invitation to one of the neighborhood meetings with the city. But he says he also told her “we can look at it, and see if there’s a way to do it to make sure the water goes into one of our drains.” 

Answering concerns that buses, cars and delivery trucks sometimes treat College Avenue like the Indianapolis 500, Worthington said speeding is not just a problem on College Avenue. 

Neighbors on Benvenue Avenue and Hillegass Avenue have complained about needing enforcement on their streets too, he said. 

Worthington said the city recently has hired three traffic enforcement officers. 

“We can just station one of them on College to do enforcement,” he suggested. 

Carloss said a merchant mentioned a problem with water pooling at the northeast corner of Ashby and College avenues where water builds up in a low spot near a drain. 

“It didn’t surprise me because it was at a catch basin, which is normally a low spot. We have a design solution for it.” 

He said the city expects the public to be more aware of problems near them than the city staff. 

“We encourage input from neighbors, and we are responsive to concerns,” said Carloss. “The earlier the better, but even at this time we would do all we can to address them.” 

In response to local concerns, he said, the city installed a left turn signal at the intersection of Claremont Avenue and Ashby Avenue. 

At Telegraph and Ashby, he said, a left turn sign was already in place, but the city changed it to allow more time for drivers to turn. 

Carloss said a wheelchair ramp at Garber Street will be replaced because it does not meet current code requirements. He said the ramp has too much of a slope, and that it will be flattened out in the project. 

Crews will place temporary traffic diverters on Benvenue Avenue July 10, so that when re-paving begins, all the traffic will not be dumped on the street. 

The City Council approved $10,000 for a promotional campaign for the Elmwood merchants to reassert their presence when the project is completed.