Crews repair pavement, replace culvert

Those traveling on a busy section of roadway will have detours due to construction in coming weeks.

The Public Works Department for the city of Farmington recently announced the phases for road work on Liberty Street near Parkland Health Center – and the consequent road closures for that time.

“We are removing the pavement that has failed,” Public Works Director Larry Lacy said, saying there are “patchy” spots in the roadway “where it’s bad and where it’s good.”

“So, it’s not 100 percent of the pavement that is going to come out. It’s just local places.”

The project is being divided into three phases to maintain access to Parkland Hospital.

“We’re trying to keep as much access to the emergency department as possible,” he said.

The first phase started on July 10 and consists of crews removing pavement on Liberty Street at a location east of the ambulance entrance to Parkland Hospital and west of Black Knight Drive.

That portion of roadway was closed earlier this week, with a temporary gravel surface put in place before reopening to traffic.

“That’s so people can still (access) the hospital from the west,” Lacy said.

The second phase consists of removing pavement on Liberty Street west of Parkland Drive and east of Westmount.

This work was scheduled to begin on Wednesday, with the road closed on Wednesday and Thursday.

The final phase of work involved the removing and replacing of the culvert west of Parkland Drive as well as at the entrance of Southbrook Skilled Nursing Home.

Lacy explained the box culvert located near the Southbrook entrance is in a deteriorating condition.

“It is a metal culvert and the bottom is absolutely rotted out,” he said. “It would last a few more years, but we don’t want to let it get to the place that the road is sinking.”

Crews will be enlarging the culvert as well, going back to a box culvert from the current oval culvert.

A route on Parkland Drive providing access to Southbrook will be kept open during this time.

“It just turns out that right there in front of Parkland Drive the pavement is in really good shape, so we won’t have to do any destruction there,” he said.

The work on this portion of the project is expected to begin on Monday. The road will be closed through at least July 21, with the possibility of that date expanding.

All work is depending upon weather conditions and closure times may vary. Lacy added the closed areas will be open to traffic after business hours, with closures only in place during the working day.

Those wanting to access the Farmington Water Park complex from the north should use the Columbia Street exit during this time as well.

Watch dailyjournalonline.com and farmingtonpressonline.com for any updates on the project.

For more information, contact the Public Works office at 756-0608.

Crews began work Monday on a section of Liberty Street, replacing sections of “failed” pavement, while maintaining access to Parkland Health Center from the Parkland Drive on the west side of the complex. Work is expected to continue on this stretch of roadway for the next couple of weeks.

Shawnna Robinson is the managing editor of the Farmington Press and can be reached at 572-518-3628 or srobinson@farmingtonpressonline.com