Rexburg outlines plan to improve streets

Rexburg officials say 2014 will be a good year for infrastructure projects and economic growth.

The city plans to do road work on major intersections that need improvement. The Public Works Department is hoping to fix roads with its five-year street construction plan. The department hopes to get approval for the plan from the City Council.

If the plan is approved, Assistant City Engineer Keith Davidson said, the bad roads will be fixed.

“The roads have basically lived (their) life and so those areas are being reconstructed and made new. You will have another 20- or 30-year life on those roads again,” he said.

If approved, there will be a strategy to fix streets in different parts of the city every year.

“We will do $100,000 to $200,000 worth in seal-coating the streets so that is just a micro surface on top that helps protect the roads,” he said.

Councilwoman Donna Benfield said she will vote yes for the five-year plan.

“We need to look further ahead than a year or two and for the sizable projects that we’re looking at we need to plan three or four years ahead to make sure we have the funds that are needed to complete these projects,” said Benfield.

The city also plans on doing major realignment work on the corner of First North and Second West where the main road bends to accommodate the railroad. The project to fix the intersection has been approved by the city.

Benfield said fixing the intersection is a must.

“I know when people go through that intersection they struggle every time there are many railroad trucks and quite a few stop signs so its difficult to maneuver, so this will be wonderful,” Benfield said.

The council will make its decision next Wednesday. If approved, construction will start in the spring.

The five-year plan will cost $5 million.