CDBG phase of Vermijo project underway

       Installation of curb, gutter and sidewalk has begun on a three-block segment of Vermijo Street under the city's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
       The $208,000 effort, which got underway Sept. 26, is the final phase of a two-phase city project that started last spring between 23rd and 26th streets.
       Program development manager Bradley Lovell could not predict an end date for the work, other than to express confidence that the contractor will be done within the required 90 days. “The wrench in the works right now is the concrete shortage, nationally and regionally,” he said. The shortage is related to the hurricane damage in the Gulf Coast. But “I hear things are getting better,” he added.
       The concrete issue has also slowed the start of CDBG sidewalk work in the Mesa Springs neighborhood. Lovell said the city has deliberately held off putting that work out to bids “because of inflated prices right now.” He does not expect this situation to change for at least a month.
       According to plans, the Vermijo sidewalks will go in as needed on both sides of the street in the three blocks, affecting 46 chiefly residential properties.
       The first phase of the work in that neighborhood occurred last spring, when City Utilities laid a new water main down the middle of the street.
       Vermijo is part of the city's Westside “strategy area” for CDBG, which uses federal funds to bring public improvements to residential areas.

Westside Pioneer article