PETOSKEY — Extensive construction work taking place this summer on Howard Street in Petoskey will kick into high gear as Labor Day draws closer.
During the Petoskey City Council meeting on Monday, July 21, city manager Shane Horn gave an update on the reconstruction project. Horn said they have asked contractors to move up construction timelines to account for the start of the school year, to ensure that work in key areas is done before Labor Day.
Central Elementary School, Sheridan Elementary School and the Public Schools of Petoskey’s Spitler Administration Building are all located along Howard Street.
Reconstruction from Grove to Fulton streets is actively being worked on, with sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water projects all completed through Fulton Street. This work is all comprised of underground utility projects.
Curbs, gutter and sidewalk installations are also underway and expected to be completed early in the week of July 28, depending on weather. Paving is scheduled to take place in early August.
Construction on Howard Street from Jennings Avenue to Sheridan Street started the week of July 21.
“We have a critical timeline, as we all know, that stretch from Sheridan to Jennings, it’s very critical that we get that complete before school begins,” Horn said. “We moved forward from that stretch from Sheridan to Jennings and once that work is done we’ll … complete the project.”
Horn added that traffic will be able to use the intersection turning south onto Howard and west onto Sheridan except for when utilities are being connected to the existing system and for the final prep work and paving.
Water main work will begin after sanitary sewer work has made enough progress, Horn said. That work is expected to start the week of July 28.
City officials said water services and storm sewer work on Howard between Jennings and Sheridan should be completed by the week of Aug. 11, allowing roadway reconstruction and paving to be completed by the end of August.
Construction on other areas of Howard Street will continue after the start of the school year. The first day of class is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 2.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @KarlyGrahamJrn.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Howard Street construction timeline moved up to get ready for new school year
Reporting by Karly Graham, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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