MOUNT VERNON – Reconstruction of a section of East Chestnut Street will require motorists to make a detour for an estimated two weeks.
East Chestnut between North Gay and North Main streets will close beginning at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 3 and last until 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 18, Mount Vernon spokesperson Todd Hill said.
Eastbound motorists on Chestnut Street will be detoured south on North Main Street to the Public Square. All westbound motorists on Coshocton Avenue – except for local traffic only – will be detoured south on North Park Street to East High, Hill said.
West of the North Park intersection, all westbound traffic on East Chestnut, including emergency vehicles, will be detoured south on North Gay Street to East High Street.
A lightning strike on Aug 12 led to a water main break on East Chestnut. Even after that fix, a leak persisted for a month until crews found a fixed a service line that had not been properly abandoned years before.
Plates were removed and holes filled in mid-September. But the damage was so extensive that permanent reconstruction of East Chestnut between North Gay and North Main was necessary, City Engineer Brian Ball said.
In the project the pavement, the bricks under the pavement and the concrete below that will be removed. Then the entire street will be reconstructed. Gutters, curbs and sidewalk on East Chestnut’s south side also will be rebuilt.
The project won’t be fully completed until 2022. Ball said it’s too cold now to lay permanent asphalt. Temporary asphalt and street markings will be laid down at the end of this reconstruction project. When the weather warms back up next year, more permanent asphalt will be installed.
Federal funds the city received through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will pay for this project, Mayor Matt Starr told the Mount Vernon News.
Residents can find project updates as needed on the city’s website, mountvernonohio.org, as well as the city’s Facebook page.
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