The City of Pullman will complete its resurfacing work on Merman Drive from Terre View Drive to Westwood Drive this week.
City engineer Cara Haley said the project of repairing some of these roads, including Merman Drive, has been going on since June. The project is in its first phase out of two.
“The way this project works is basically taking our roadway, we’re rebuilding it with a thicker, sturdier section,” Haley said. “They did pave what we call the base lift of the asphalt but they still need to pave the top lift, which is the surface that you see with lines and that people drive over.”
Haley said the base lift was paved Aug. 3. The phase will be completed sometime this week, depending on when the striping will be done, as there are some materials still needed to finish that section.
“There will be some striping going down on this project,” Haley said. “We use plastic striping which basically has to be applied when the asphalt is hot.”
City communications coordinator Sarah Phelan-Blamires said the project is generally being handled by the Pullman public works department without involvement from other areas of the city.
“The head engineer on that project is Samer Nasralla and Cara [Haley] is also assisting on it,” Phelan-Blamires said.
Phelan-Blamires said the funding for the project is $1.6 million. The contractor the city has been working with is Motley-Motley Inc.
This project has been in development for a few years, Haley said. Merman Drive is one of the more traveled roads as a bus route, causing it to be a focus of attention for repairs.
Haley said phase two will focus on paving Westwood Drive. Some of the operations have already begun on some of the concrete work on Westwood Drive. The focus will shift completely to Westwood Drive once Merman is complete.
“I’m anticipating one long day for the top lift of Merman if everything goes to plan. Contractors will reach out to residents, property managers of apartments so that there’s information,” she said.
Haley said the road will be closed when the asphalt is laid. The contractor for the project will be reaching out to residents once they have an exact date for this part of the project, which will be dependent on the striping.
“When you pave with asphalt it obviously gets laid down very hot to ensure the longevity of the pavement. It’s really important to keep traffic off of it until it cools to a certain temperature,” she said.
Phase two of the project will be similar to phase one, but in a different location, Haley said. Besides the concrete work, repairs will also be made on some utility work, drain repairs and excavating the roadway and rebuilding a new section. The target date to finish this project is sometime in October.
Haley said those involved with the project appreciate the city’s patience in finishing the project and their acceptance of the inconvenience of it.
