About three dozen residents attended a public hearing on Onondaga County’s plans to repave Allen Road in North Syracuse on Thursday, March 6 at Allen Road Elementary.
The county DOT hopes to complete the project, which involves repaving the entire 1.2-mile stretch of Allen Road from West Taft Road to Bear Road, by the fall of 2016. Representatives from Onondaga County DOT along with project managers from Popli Design Group were on hand to discuss the project with area residents.
“When we started this project, we wanted community input and feedback so that we can incorporate those into the design,” said Christopher Rauber, civil engineer from Onondaga County Department of Transportation. “We’re in the preliminary design phase. We have no notions about what it will entail.”
The project, which has an estimated cost of approximately $2 million, will address numerous longitudinal and transverse cracks in the road, as well as drainage issues that leave water to pond along the shoulder after a heavy rain.
According to a presentation by Popli design engineer Steve Ketch, the project will do the following:
Mill and overlay of travel lanes with selective full-depth repairs and spot repairs in worse areas.
Reconstruction of the shoulders.
Some sort of treatment along edge of shoulder, either a curb or a tip-up gutter formed in asphalt to control runoff from roadway and send it to a catch basin instead of the front yards of residents.
A new drainage system, which will include replacing many of the pipes underneath the road.
“Our records indicate the pipes were replaced in the 1980s,” Rauber said. “Other than spot repairs, they haven’t been replaced since. In addition, when they were replaced, they used corrugated metal and steel pipes. We would replace those with plastic pipes.”
The proposal also suggested reducing the size of the road’s shoulders from eight feet to five feet, something residents in attendance found unacceptable.
“I would hate to see it be made smaller,” said Barbara Richardson. “So many people use that road, especially kids who ride bikes, kids who walk. It’s a busy road with a lot of foot traffic. We need that width on the side so people aren’t walking into the road.”
Another resident said he’d heard rumors that sidewalks would be installed, something Rauber said was a possibility if the community expresses an interest. Robert J. Pietrucha, who has lived on Armitage Drive with his wife for 56 years, said sidewalks should definitely be included in the project.
“Sidewalks should be the number one priority for safety reasons,” Pietrucha said. “Many people walk there, and it’s dangerous.”
DOT representatives said they hope to complete the work before school starts in the fall of 2016. They don’t anticipate having to use detours during the project; instead, flaggers would redirect traffic around the areas under construction.
The paving project will be predominantly funded with federal highway funds, as well as some state and county money.
The DOT is accepting comments from the public. Any comments can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to:
Mr. Christopher Rauber
Onondaga County Department of Transportation
11th Floor, John H. Mulroy Civic Center
421 Montgomery St.
Syracuse, NY 13202
All comments must be received by March 20.
