An ungainly looking paving machine inched up the steep slope of G Street recently, leaving behind a fresh layer of concrete.
The work of that machine was key to just one of dozens of paving jobs under way or already completed this summer in Fort Dodge.
While private contractors are completing some major projects, city crews have been doing concrete repairs on Fifth Avenue South and in other areas.
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A crew from Wick Construction uses a large paving machine to pour concrete on G Street just north of Avenue C recently. Trucks delivering concrete had to back all the way down the hill to reach the ever moving work site.
''What we do is identify sections of our streets that are deteriorated but can be repaired with what we call full depth concrete patches,'' said Public Works Director Greg Koch. ''That way, we don't have to resurface the entire road.''
The City Council on Monday will consider awarding another paving contract for multiple streets, creating the possibility that even more road work will be done this year.
Contracted work
Under a contract awarded last year, crews from Fort Dodge Asphalt are repaving part or all of 10 streets. The company did curb and gutter repairs at four other locations.
The City Council awarded the company a roughly $271,000 contract for that work on Aug. 22, 2011.
Scott Meinders, a civil engineer for the city, said the last major part of that project which remains to be done is the repaving of Central Avenue between Eighth and 12th streets. He said that work will be done this fall following the final Market on Central event.
The repaving of G Street from Avenue C to Avenue F was postponed from last year because the bids initially received for the work were much higher than anticipated. Wicks Construction of Decorah has a $338,909.36 contract to do the job.
Dewitt Street and Fourth Avenue North between Fifth and Seventh streets are being completely rebuilt in a project Meinders said will be done within a month. New storm sewers, water mains and sanitary sewers were installed as part of the project. Hovey Construction of Fort Dodge was hired to do the work at a cost of $819,290.42.
Three streets near Feelhaver Elementary School are also being rebuilt. Those roads are North 13th Street between 13th and 14th avenues north, 13th Avenue North from Williams Drive to North 14th Street, and North 14th Street between 13th and 14th avenues north. Hovey Construction has a $806,582 contract for the project.
City crews keep busy
Koch said public works employees have done concrete patch work in eight locations. He added that they may do more patching on Kenyon Road this year. Tower Drive, he said, is already on the list for concrete repairs next year.
In addition to the concrete patching, city crews have been using liquid asphalt to seal cracks in the roads.
''By filling them with asphalt, we prevent water from getting in and freezing and thawing, causing the street to deteriorate,'' Koch said.
City crews also fill potholes with a mixture of liquid asphalt and small rocks that's called Durapatch. Koch said filling the potholes is ''more of a Band-Aid approach'' to preserving a street.