By Russell Ledbetter

Troutman resident Michael “Pee Wee” Williams never thought he’d live to see the day the street in his Inglewood neighborhood was paved.

“We have some residents who have been waiting a very long time,” Williams said following Troutman’s March board meeting.

If all goes according to plan, some of the town’s streets will get a makeover of sorts starting in August.

Town Manager David Saleeby noted the town’s commitment to improving all Troutman streets during his State of the Budget address on Thursday.

“The street infrastructure system in the town has resulted in a $3.5 million street, water and sewer improvement project, which will include all of the unimproved streets in town as well as major water and sewer infrastructure improvements in the street project areas,” Saleeby said.

A significant portion of the $3.5 million project — about $2 million — will be directed toward paving streets in the Inglewood subdivision.

Williams, who is a spokesman for the Inglewood neighborhood, and several residents spoke at a Troutman board meeting about a year ago, Saleeby said, and lobbied to get their area started.

But Saleeby noted Inglewood is just one small piece of the project, with many streets in worse shape in other parts of town.

“The last street work — major street improvements — was probably done in the early 1990s,” Saleeby said. “They’ve done sections of town and patch work, but there are some dirt streets that have been here for 40 or 50 years or longer without any improvements.”

Preliminary engineering began in February 2007 and was completed in mid-December of last year. Survey work was completed over the first three months of 2008, with final design work expected to be completed this week.

West Consultants of Morganton conducts all work related to the project for the Town of Troutman.

“We plan to put the first phase of the project (the Inglewood area) out for bids around July 1,” West Consultant’s Benjie Thomas said. “And if bids are favorable, we will start construction in August.”

The August start date is also contingent upon the weather, Thomas said.

Sewer conditions under the streets could also delay construction.

An additional two phases of paving are slated to follow the Inglewood project, with other Troutman streets budgeted for $1.5 of the total $3.5 million cost, Saleeby said.

Other Troutman streets separate from the Inglewood phase, include: Litton Street, part of West Avenue, Mills Avenue, Wesley Street, Leon Street, Harris Court and Thomas Street.

“These second two phases will require new right-of-way dedication. Therefore, that has the potential to slow the progress,” Thomas said. “Residents are encouraged to be patient but know that the town has committed to moving forward as soon as is practical.”

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