Twin Cities Road Construction Update

Construction projects are growing all over the twin cities. That may be driving you mad, but some of them are actually wrapping up. When you drive around West Monroe construction projects seem to be on every corner. Thomas Road, North 7th and Trenton Streets are just to name a few. Now Oliver Road in Monroe joins the group of facelifts. Drivers have mixed feelings about it. From Monroe’s Oliver Road to West Monroe’s Thomas Road and Trenton Street; the signs say it all. "Yeah we're trying to get somewhere fast, but we can't get there, there's too much traffic,” said one passenger on Thomas Road in West Monroe. That’s what most drivers feel on Thomas Road during the four lane road patching from Wal-Mart to the paper mill. "That's what I don't understand, I don't see anybody working on it, I could be wrong I don't know,” said one driver on Thomas Road in West Monroe. After two months the foreman says Thomas Road is nearly complete The same is true for the Trenton Street project. "Replacing it with about 2 1/2 inches of asphalt,” said D & J Construction Supervisor Jim Hegwood. Crews on Trenton Street spent the day tearing up the last pieces of asphalt on roads joining the street awaiting the finishing touches D & J Construction supervisor Jim Hegwood says drivers won't have to worry about construction on Trenton for awhile. "Roads going to last at least 15, probably 20 maybe a little more,” said Hegwood. It’s a different story on Oliver Road in Monroe where groundbreaking is just beginning. Here an extra lane will be added from tower drive to Forsythe Avenue. "The traffic flow is congested and so this will relieve the traffic flow,” said Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo. Harry Hillman knows all about that heavy traffic because he drives on it to get home. He says its a win win for him...... a wider Oliver will mean less auto accidents. "A number of them even my family has had wrecks on account of it,” said Hillman. Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo says the $1.8 million project will also fix drainage issues.. "When we come through here many of the houses are flooding,” said Mayo. But whether construction is ending or beginning, crews say it's always better for drivers in the long run. Projects on Oliver Road and Trenton Street come all thanks to federal stimulus money. The foreman from the Oliver road project says they expect to have the road finished by November. As for Thomas Road and Trenton Street, the foreman says they expect to be done by the end of this week.