The Lake Douglas East sewer project has made for some rough riding down Twin Lakes Drive, but the City of Bainbridge hopes residents won’t have to wait too much longer for re-paving to be completed.

Workers paved a small portion of Woodridge Drive and Hughes Street on Monday. However, work has been halted due to heavy rainfall on Monday and Tuesday making conditions too wet, City Manager Chris Hobby said.

While there is still a small chance of rain on Thursday, the National Weather Service then predicts partly cloudy or sunny weather through next Tuesday.

“Hopefully, those few days of dry weather will allow paving to restart next week,” Hobby said.

As it stands now, Thomas Drive and Twin Lakes Drive are characterized by wet dirt, loose asphalt and some hazards in the form of manholes that stick out over the top of what’s left of the road.

Most of the manholes are marked with orange safety cones, but it’s apparent that residents aren’t crazy about the road conditions.

“Please pardon our progress,” reads one City of Bainbridge sign that points motorists to read more about the sewer project’s status online.

But a homemade sign posted onto a pine tree in front of a residence says, “Please Pave Our Roads.”

City officials say there are technical reasons why the roads affected by the sewer project can’t be paved after rainfall (See Below: Sewer project: Frequently Asked Questions.)

Hobby said that once work resumes, workers will finish paving Woodridge Drive and Hughes Street, move to Thomas Drive and then come back to pave the portion of Twin Lakes Drive from Thomas Drive to the small bridge at the intersection of Douglas Drive, a distance of about 1.3 miles.

 

Sewer project “Frequently Asked Questions”

The following information is provided by the City of Bainbridge.

 

How can I stay informed with what is happening with the sewer project?

There are multiple ways to stay informed with what is happening with the sewer project. The easiest way it to get sewer updates right in your inbox. You can email cvb@bainbridgecity.com and ask to be added to the sewer update mailing list. You can also visit our blog and enter your email address in the field to the left that says, “Get This Blog in Your Inbox.”

You can also find information about the sewer project on the city’s website, www.bainbridgecity.com, our Facebook page and you can follow us on Twitter.

 

Why is it taking so long to pave the roads?

You cannot pave roads that are still saturated with water. Even though we have had a few days of nice weather and the road looks dry, some areas are still “pumping.” This means that there are areas that are soft and flexing under the weight of our vehicles.  If we were to pave now, with the base still wet, the asphalt would hold in the moisture and eventually the potholes would be created in the road. In the worst case, entire sections of the road could crumble.

 

If the road has to be dry, why are you spraying the road with water?

We have the water truck out there to help keep the dust down. The small amount of moisture that we are spraying on the road doesn’t hurt it. It evaporate very quickly, but it does help with the dust.