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The construction work at Fifth and Beaton in Corsicana is to add two wheelchair ramps to those corners, part of a continuing effort to improve sidewalks in downtown.
“Those are going to be those long wheelchair ramps like on the corner of Third and Beaton, with the handrails,” said Terry Franks, director of public works.
The city had put aside about $20,000 for sidewalks this year, in anticipation of getting a state grant for sidewalk reconstruction. When the grant didn’t materialize, the city chose to use the money to build the ramps.
“They’re pretty large because of the height of the sidewalks, which makes them pretty long,” he said. “We picked the location because it had two of the really steep ramps that weren’t good for that location.”
The work is being done by contractors, and it should be completed by the end of the month.
An application for next year’s grant cycle recently got a public hearing at a Corsicana City Council meeting. The application is seeking $150,000 from the Texas Capital Improvement Fund to completely reconstruct the sidewalks on Beaton between Third and Fourth avenues.
The city applied for a similar grant back in 2009, but didn’t get it. The city has gotten a sidewalk grant in the past, to do the sidewalks on Third Avenue between Beaton and Main, and was done in conjunction with the brick street reconstruction.
The city chose Beaton for this grant project because of the state of the sidewalk, explained Main Street Director Steve Dieterichs.
“It’s going to be both sides of Beaton between Third and Fourth,” he said. “It’s based on the condition of the sidewalk surface and the existence or non-existence of ramps. Especially right there at Withrow Furniture. It’s a real steep grade, and there’s no handicapped accessibility, and there’s several spots in that stretch that are really in poor condition.”
If it gets the grant, the city will have to match the money with about $45,000 in cash and in-kind services, Dieterichs said.
“The match may go up based on the final estimate,” said Elizabeth Borstad, city engineer. “The actual budget will include a cash match and some city engineering matches as well, but I’m not sure of the amounts.”
The city has done sidewalk reconstruction in the past using local tax money. In recent years, the city has redone Sixth Avenue, both the north and south sides, and Beaton from Sixth Avenue to Collin Street.
“Those were general fund monies,” Borstad said.
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Janet Jacobs may be reached via e-mail at jacobs@corsicanadailysun.com. Want to “sound off” to this article? E-mail: Soundoff@corsicanadailysun.com
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