The City of Dayton has launched a $285,000 project to repave roughly 1.5 miles of streets, according to City Manager Theo Melancon.
The roadwork involves Dunlo Street, Pecan Lane, Hickory Lane, Enchanted Lane, E. Cherry Creek Road, S. Cleveland Street between US 90 and Houston Street, Linney Creek and Daniel Park Road.
This project was planned by the city last winter, Melancon said. The contractor for the paving project is Cowboy Asphalt of Cleveland, Texas.
“The Linney Creek area has been neglected for a long while. We needed to get through that subdivision and invest some time and effort there,” he said. “Following the Linney Creek work, we will be doing major asphalt and base work inside Daniel Park from the entrance at FM 1008 through the park. We are also going to add a paved road to the girls’ softball side. That was previously a dirt road.”
The work inside Daniel Park Road is extensive as the park road is roughly three widths of city streets because of parallel parking spaces, he added.
“We sent out flyers to all the residences and businesses that are affected by the roadwork. We are working with folks very closely to make sure we are not disrupting their lives too much while we repair the roads,” Melancon said.
As this project continues, the City is already eyeing another round of road repairs in the near future.
“We are starting to plan Phase 2 to see if there is an opportunity to do a second set of streets. We are consulting our paving assessment guide that we prepared during the winter. We had Kimley-Horn, our engineering group, go through every road in the City and give their opinion on how to rehabilitate each of the roads. Based on that information, we have an index of roads based on their condition and the amount of traffic they see,” Melancon said.
Whether the City can afford more road repairs will depend on how well the economy bounces back from the coronavirus pandemic, but Melancon remains optimistic.
“The foundation is there for a good comeback, particularly with the Grand Parkway and the growth coming our way,” he said. “There are a lot of hardworking people in our community who have been affected by this and there might be some businesses in the country that will never recover, but I think Dayton is in a good position to bounce back fairly quickly.”
One indicator that growth in the Dayton area is continuing comes from the City’s Development and Planning Services Department. Melancon said that requests for permits and the submission of plans has not declined at all.
“Our planning and permits department has been moving at full speed ahead. We are even doing inspections in the field. That never stopped. I think it bodes well for us where other cities may have slowed down,” he said.
The Dayton City Council may soon add a new member later this month at the May 18 council meeting. After weeks of the City Council members interviewing candidates to fill the unexpired term of Dr. John Johnson, who resigned in late March, a new council person is expected to be appointed. While the meeting will be held via Zoom, Bluebonnet News will keep readers updated on the new appointment.