Paving the Way on the New Road of a New Day

Ever since I bought my house in Pottstown, I have been mildly puzzled by the fact that one block of my street looks like it was hit by a steady barrage of mortar shells, but my block is, by comparison at least, as smooth as glass.

Of course, because like many streets in the borough, mine is one-way, I have to drive through the mine-field to get to my block.

In fact, when returning home, I usually turn in one block away from mine and take a cross street so as to avoid that mine-field.

Now granted, this is less of a hardship for me, then for my poor neighbors who have no choice but to put their car suspension at risk if they want to park in front of their house.

So today I bring good news. That block is one of the roughly 23 blocks scheduled to be paved this season, along with five more scheduled to be repaired.

The map was provided to Borough Council on Aug. 8 and to me, after some cajoling, on Aug. 15 by Doug Yerger, the borough's director of public works.

Now, I understand I need to temper my excitement with the understanding that nothing is guaranteed.

Yerger told council that he had money available, as usual, from the "liquid fuels fund." This is derived from the state tax on gasoline and must be used for road-related expenses.

But he could not tell if the money available will be enough to complete all the roads shown on the map.

"We had estimated $600,000, but we've got a little over $500,000 a little, so we'll have to cut back a little bit. We'll get as much done as we can," Yerger said.

I don't know about you, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed, and maybe I won't have to keep taking cross streets.

Below is a list of the streets scheduled for paving as best I can make out from the map:

• Glasgow Street, from Walnut Street to Elm Street;
• West King Street, from Berks Street to halfway between Potts Drive and Gabel Street;
• Gabel Street, from High Street to King Street;
• Fifth Street, from State Street to Johnson Street;
• Johnson Street, from Sixth Street to Seventh Street;
• Fourth Street, from York Street to North Hanover Street;
• Wilson Street, from Farmington Avenue to North Hanover Street;
• Penn Street, from King Street to Buttonwood Alley;
• Warren Street, from High Street to Chestnut Street;
• Adams Street, from King Street to Chestnut Street;
• Adams Street, from Jefferson Avenue to Jackson Street;
• Beech Street, from Adams Street to Thomas Street;
• Price Street, from Rambler Street to Bellview Street;
• Cedar Street, from Rambler Street to Beech Street;
• Hillside Street, from Maple Street to Rose Court;
• Rose Court, from Cherry Lane to Sunrise Drive;
• Prospect Street, from Spruce Street to Charlotte Street;
• Mineral Street from Logan Street to Feist Avenue.

On the schedule for repairs are:

• Berks Street, from Walnut Street to West King Street;
• West Street, from North Franklin Street to North Washington Street;
• Grant Street, from Morris Street to Jackson Street;
• North Washington Street, from Wilson Street to Prospect Street;

Well, I think that's all of them. 

Good luck Public Works, let's hope the weather holds, costs are low and work speedy.