Wheeling’s Budget-Friendly Paving Contract Targets Alleys
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WHEELING - Several city streets in neighborhoods throughout Wheeling are scheduled to be paved this spring, as are dozens of alleys.
Members of Wheeling City Council this week took action to have two readings on a new ordinance to award a street resurfacing contract in order to get the ball rolling on the first batch of paving projects this year. Council unanimously approved the $630,585 contract with Cast and Baker of Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, to be paid with money from the city’s general fund.
Officials noted that $800,000 in cash carryover funds from the previous fiscal year had been earmarked from the general fund for street paving. The chunk of remaining money from this line item and the anticipated allocation of federal Community Development Block Grant funds are expected to be used for another round of paving later this year.
"I’d just like to thank city staff for working on this and thank members of city council for submitting these lists of streets," said Wheeling Vice Mayor Chad Thalman, who presided over this week’s city council meeting while Mayor Glenn Elliott was out of town. "Paving has been a priority for us - at least for the last two city councils. I think we’ve made some significant progress, and I’m excited to see this contract move forward."
The city’s last paving contract was a huge $1.8 million effort that was completed between the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023. A portion of the city’s American Rescue Plan Act Funds was utilized to help complete this massive paving contract, which had targeted several alleys in the city that had not received attention in decades.
Wheeling’s upcoming paving contract will again focus on getting alleys resurfaced. Under the new contract, more than two dozen alleys are scheduled to be paved as part of this project in neighborhoods throughout the city. Alleys or portions of alleys to be resurfaced include several one-lane thoroughfares in Warwood, Elm Grove, Woodsdale, Edgwood, Center Wheeling, South Wheeling, Wheeling Island and East Wheeling.
A number of streets are also on the list for resurfacing. They include Highland Avenue Extension from Drop Street to North 23rd Street, Drop Street from Highland Avenue Extension to Warwood Avenue, North Wabash Street from Zane Street to Indiana Street, Merwin Street from National Road to Wagner Street, Schenk Street from National Road to Fulton Street, Glenwood Road and Forney Drive intersection from the stop sign north to the paving seam of Forney and south to the water meter post, Fairview Avenue from Edgelawn to Era Street - including the alley that runs to Fairview Avenue, Fairview Terrace from Prospect Avenue to Shady Street, Harding Avenue from Louisa Avenue to Decatur Avenue (south side only because of a storm sewer project), Wyngate Court from Kraus Drive to Packard Avenue, Packard Avenue from Cadillac Avenue to Lincoln Avenue, and Lincoln Avenue from Kraus Drive to the end of Lincoln Avenue at the driveway fro 2538 Lincoln Ave.
City Manager Robert Herron recommended two readings and passage of the street paving ordinance this week. He noted that the city was getting somewhat of a late start on paving work for this spring, but he added that it was fortunate that the city did not move forward with a contract last fall and have the paving list completed partially last year and partially this spring.
"Fortunately we waited, and we probably ended up saving about $100,000 because of the late start," he said, explaining that contractors would have likely included a "price escalator" in their bid had the paving been split between last fall and this spring. Now the contract will commence in April and be completed in one shot.
Wheeling City Councilman Ben Seidler noted that not many streets and alleys from neighborhoods such as those in his Ward 2 are included on the current list, but more are expected to be paved as part of another round of resurfacing work to be paid with federal funds.
"A significant amount of paving that will happen will be funded by CDBG," Seidler said. "There will be another contract."
Herron explained that snags in Washington, D.C. have slowed progress in obtaining the annual allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"The CDBG program has been delayed this year because of federal budget issues, which are well documented," he said. "We don’t anticipate the CDBG process now occurring until probably April or May. But paving is an eligible expense in eligible census tracts."
In the past, the city has used a portion of its CDBG funds for street paving, while at other times, Wheeling has used the money for sewer improvements and other infrastructure projects deemed eligible under the public works category. Primarily, CDBG funding must be used for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.
Wheeling typically receives around $1.8 million in CDBG funding annually, and the public works portion of the funds is usually around $600,000, Herron noted.
"We’ll evaluate the various streets that are eligible," he said of the likely CDBG paving project later this year. "It’s a separate bidding process, a separate set of regulations - we just haven’t come up with our CDBG budget yet because the process has been delayed."
Another $170,000 will also be available because the current paving contract was well under-budget.
"There’s no shortage of streets," Herron said.