SALEM Cunningham Road is about ready to reopen after widening project

The work on another street project is still expected to be finished on time.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- A busy street that's been closed for about a month for renovations is set to reopen next week.
Crews are completing work on a $212,000 improvement project affecting a portion of Cunningham Road on the city's east side, said Joe Julian, city service director.
The road, which has been closed since late July, is likely to reopen to traffic late next week, he added Friday.
The main north-south artery, near Wal-Mart, has been widened from 19 feet to 30 feet. Other work has included resurfacing and installing curbs and storm sewers.
The job is being done by Kirila Construction of Brookfield.
The city took out a loan to fund the undertaking.
Slowed project
Progress on another major street project has temporarily slowed, Julian said.
Crews began work in June on a $1.3 million project aimed at improving traffic congestion in the city's east-side commercial corridor.
The project is being split into two phases, with the first calling for widening and extending East Third Street eastward so that it intersects with Roosevelt Avenue.
The job has been stalled while crews wait for new natural gas lines to be installed in and around the project area, Julian said.
Once the line work is done, construction can resume, he added.
That phase of the project is still expected to meet its November completion date, Julian said.
Second phase
After that, crews expect to shift to the project's second phase, extending Bentley Drive from Roosevelt Avenue eastward so that it links with Continental Drive.
That part of the job is to be done by mid-spring 2004, Julian said.
Once the entire undertaking is finished, it should provide motorists with an alternate route in that part of town, easing some of the traffic congestion on East State Street, city officials have said.
The city is borrowing money for the project, which also is being done by Kirila.
The city's downtown business district is being spruced up with a painting project that has targeted rusting traffic-signal poles.
The city hired M & amp;M Painting of Salem to repaint the black poles. Salt used to keep ice off the streets in the winter has rusted the poles, Julian said.
The company is being paid $6,500 to do the work, which is to be finished sometime next week.
Money to pay the bill will come from the traffic and safety maintenance budget, Julian added.
leigh@vindy.com