Martin Hellmann, a project manager at CT Consultants, updated Fort Wright City Council on their 5-Year Street Program during their August meeting. The program is facing increased construction costs and the rapid deterioration of George Huser Drive.
The city created the 5-Year Street Program to reconstruct and resurface key Fort Wright roads from 2023 to 2027. While they have primarily planned out which streets they will work on, the market changes, so CT Consultants, an engineering firm contracted through the city, has adjusted their suggestions on where to spend the money from the road budget.
“Since we drafted the five-year plan in 2021, the streets haven’t changed,” Hellmann said. “What has changed is construction costs. They are significantly higher than they were last year.”
According to City Administrator Jill Cain Bailey, construction costs for road projects have doubled since 2021 when they initially calculated these figures.
The initial plan calls for resurfacing General Drive and Pickett Drive in 2025. CT Consultants plans to ask for separate bids from road construction companies for each street. Hellman explained how the current state of General and Pickett Drive illustrates the program’s purpose.
“General and Pickett are getting pretty deteriorated,” Hellmann said. “There are cracks and base deteriorations, which lead to potholes.”
Additionally, Hellmann recommended trying to start work on George Huser Drive next year. Previously, the program did not plan to resurface George Huser until 2027.
Hellmann said they want to prioritize it because “based on the current condition of the road, and the fact that it is heavily traveled, we think George Huser could be moved up. We thought we might be able to sneak it in with these bids for a good price.”
Fort Wright Mayor Dave Hatter thinks this is a fair assessment.
“George Huser gets way more traffic than General and Pickett,” Hatter said. “If I had to guess, it’s one of the most trafficked roads in the city.”
George Huser Drive connects US-42 to Park Road and several businesses. The road has required repairs to a failing sidewalk within the last year.
The city council requested that CT Consultants ask for bids on all proposed streets—General Drive, Pickett Drive and George Huser Drive. Once those bids return, they plan to compare prices and ultimately decide what is worth the money in their road budget in 2025.