The bumpy ride through a portion of downtown Elizabethton will be no more at the end of this weekend if all goes as planned.
Elizabethton City Manager Jerome Kitchens gave members of the Downtown Business Association an advance warning that construction to remove rutted asphalt at the intersection of East Elk Avenue and Sycamore Street will begin tonight.
The goal is to have the old pavement milled out by Saturday morning, so the replacement asphalt can be placed and finished by Saturday evening. On May 10, the work will be finished with the stamping and installation of new crosswalks in the intersection.
Kitchens said it had been the original plan to have all of the work done on the intersection during the overnight hours to limit the impact on businesses. However, he said the construction company was confident they could get the work done in one day, and that they needed the daytime temperatures so the asphalt would set correctly.
“We had talked about doing all this at night, but they will be paving on Saturday,” he said. “There will be some lane closures but the traffic will still be moving through downtown. I know Saturday is a big business day. I would have preferred for it not to be on Saturday at all.”
Kitchens told the DBA the construction company had worked the project into its calendar. He said if they waited for the next available date, it could still end up on Saturday.
He also explained that the crosswalks would still be asphalt, but would be stamped to give the appearance of a brick surface. They would also be finished out in a different color to provide a separation of the crosswalk from the roadway.
Kitchens said the long-term goal was to have a special treatment applied to all crosswalks in downtown, whether it be a stamped surface or a slightly elevated crosswalk to increase pedestrian safety.
The DBA also voted to become a member of the Elizabethton/Carter County Chamber of Commerce. It was pointed out that the Chamber was a member of the DBA, while the DBA had not yet become a member of the Chamber.
DBA members agreed it would be a good show of working together, and noted the Chamber provides assistance to the DBA for events and promoting the area. Members of the group unanimously agreed to join the Chamber.