Public Works
Time for an Update
Conceptual rendering of the updated Central Avenue
Middletown invests in streets and new developments BY DAVID HOLTHAUS
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uch of Middletown’s infrastructure is in the midst of upgrades. The city has embarked on a street paving project that will condense 10 years worth of resurfacing into a little more than two years, with a centerpiece of the project being the reconstruction and redesign of a key downtown corridor. The street project is already under way and will continue throughout 2022 and into 2023, says Scott Tadych, Middletown’s public works director. “We’re repaving one-third of all the 10
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streets in Middletown over a two-and-a-halfyear period,” Tadych says. The city typically spends about $3 million a year on street paving. This project will total a little more than $31 million. “We’re doing 10 years of work in two-and-a-half years,” Tadych says. That’s thanks to a quarter-cent, 10-year income tax levy Middletown voters overwhelmingly approved in November 2020. Because of low interest rates, city officials decided to issue bonds for the full amount of the levy, and get the work done more quickly rather than stretch it out over 10 years. Most of the work will be done on neighborhood streets that have not seen significant improvements in decades. “It’s focused almost exclusively on residential streets,” Tadych says.
Streets are assessed using a paving index ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 being a newly paved street. Pavement condition is the chief factor in the assessment, with traffic volume, safety issues, maintenance concerns and utility considerations also taken into account. One non-residential street on the list is Central Avenue, which is not only scheduled for repaving but also for a makeover meant to attract visitors and improve walkability. Central will be reconstructed between University Boulevard and Verity Parkway, a project that will include replacing the pavement, curbs and gutters. New traffic signals will be installed and new sidewalks will be built. Water mains and storm sewers will be replaced or improved. What the public may notice most will be new, decorative LED street lighting, decorative
