Marquette has around 68 miles of sidewalk and now that the snow is gone the city is fixing it up.
“Every year there is sidewalk that gets heaved from either roots or frost or something like that,” said City Engineer Mikael Kilpela. “One of the big goals of the sidewalk project is just to address those trip hazards if there’s a lip in the sidewalk or something like that or if the sidewalk is broken and it poses a hazard.”
Along with the repairs the city will be doing some work to make the sidewalks on Washington Street more accessible.
“There are some ADA compliant parking spaces but there is not a ramp nearby for when the person gets out of their vehicle to ramp up on to the sidewalk,” said Kilpela. “So we’re installing a ramp on the 100 block of Washington, mid-block.”
On Third Street the city will be removing old “coal bunkers” from underneath the sidewalk to keep walkers safe and accommodate heavy snow-removal equipment during the winter.
“Coal bunkers were basically a place where people had coal delivered a long time ago when people heated their homes and businesses with coal,” said Kilpela. “Some of these bunkers are pushing 100 years old and the integrity of the sidewalk above them is coming into question.”
While construction is underway there could be some sidewalk and lane closures near active construction sites, and Kilpela reminds drivers and walkers to be cautious while around work zones.
“As usual pay attention to caution tape and cones and things like that,” said Kilpela. “And then if there are construction crews on the side of the road, be on the lookout for concrete trucks backing up or heavy equipment or something like that.”
The city plans to be finished with all sidewalk construction by early August.
