|Photo by Eric Ayres| Wheeling City Councilman Dave Palmer speaks about the upcoming citywide street paving contract for this fiscal year during a discussion this week in city council chambers.

WHEELING – City leaders in Wheeling are keeping an eye on the impact winter weather is having on streets before committing to a final list to be included as part of this year’s citywide paving project.

All city council members have been provided with lists of streets targeted for resurfacing later this year, and in recent weeks, city officials have been working to trim down the master list and bring streets that are more of a priority for paving to the top of the list.

“As indicated at our last city council meeting, we’re working on our paving schedule for this spring,” Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron said, noting that council members have been providing input on streets in the neighborhoods throughout town that need to be addressed. “I appreciate the feedback that we’ve received thus far. We’re still on schedule to have that list done by sometime next week. I really do appreciate the efforts on each city council member’s part.”

This fiscal year, the city has budgeted just over $1 million for street paving. A total of $800,000 from the city’s general fund is being directed to resurfacing work and another $250,000 in federal funds through the Community Development Block Grant program is expected to be used on streets, as well.

In anticipation of the coming spring, when weather accommodates paving work, city leaders were originally expected to have the finalized street paving list submitted by next Wednesday. Herron previously noted that if all streets and alleys in the city that needed to be paved were included in one contract, the overall cost of that project would probably be somewhere between $2.5 million and $2.9 million.

So in order to keep this year’s project within budget, city leaders need to carefully pare down the list to only the top priorities. This week, officials noted the importance of keeping on schedule with the procedures that need to take place between now and the spring, but added that the condition of some streets may get worse as the season’s weather continues to impact them through February and March.

“My concern is – we’ve had a winter like we haven’t had in a number of years, and we’re talking about a lot of streets,” Councilman Dave Palmer said this week. “I’m just concerned that we commit to all of the funds and something major comes up, and then we have to go back and rescind.”

Herron explained that the current game plan for the paving project is to have a list in place and put a contract out to bid in mid-February. A bid opening would be held in mid-March, and legislation to award a contract to the best bidder would be presented to city council in April. It would then take until sometime in May for the contract to be finalized and for the contractor to mobilize.

“Obviously, May is the beginning of the warm weather,” Herron said, explaining that the procedural schedule has some flexibility. “Absolutely this can be delayed another 30 days to see how things go over the winter months. I have no problem with that. What we can do is get the list pretty much done and then reevaluate it in 30 days or sometime in mid- to late-March. At least all of the work will be done, and then we can put it out to bid anytime.”

Until then, work in the downtown area continues to move along with the state’s ongoing Downtown Streetscape Project. Councilwoman Connie Cain urged citizens to continue exercising patience as the project that has been under construction for the past two years enters its final phases over the course of the next several months, and as other infrastructure projects unfold in the city this year.

“Just a reminder that we are trying to better Wheeling and bring it back to life,” Cain said. “So when we see construction or sidewalks and streets torn up, we are trying to do something better for the city. I’ve heard a lot of complaints saying ‘this is not done’ or ‘that’s not done’, but we’re working for a better community. Just be a little bit patient.”