PRESS RELEASE
December 16, 2021
Further street repairs planned
MCPHERSON — In an ongoing effort to keep cost down, do more repairs and recycle usable materials, the City of McPherson is partnering with McPherson County to reconstruct some residential streets. While this process might result in some streets being temporarily unpaved, letting the millings set over a longer period of time helps ensure the roadway’s quality.
When a low volume street is beyond the point of repair, the City of McPherson Street Department removes the street and cuts it down to an acceptable grade. Then crews lay out six inches of crushed concrete most often recycled from other projects in order to cut down on waste. Over time, the heat from a full summer mixed with vehicle traffic will help those millings compact to make a more solid surface. The City can then shave the top, providing a level surface for McPherson County’s crew to overlay the street with hot asphalt mix between new curb and guttering.
This process, while sometimes longer with dust and rutting possible, saves approximately $120,000 in the reconstruction of a single block of the roadway. The savings allows for more streets to be repaired in the same manner.
Recently, this process was completed in the 800 block of Wheeler Street and the final stage will be ready in the 800 block of Elm Street, the 800 block of Ash Street as well as East Lakeside Drive from Euclid to Maxwell Streets. The plan is to finish the process next fall in these areas.
The City also has plans to apply this process to repair the 900 blocks of Elm and Wheeler in 2022, with overlay completed in 2023.
Questions or concerns can be directed to the City of McPherson Public Works Department during the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 620-245-2535.