Star City sidewalk improvements underway

STAR CITY - Motorists making their way through Star City on University Avenue have seen the evidence of sidewalk improvements being made.

Lakecrest Construction has been working on the ADA ramps on the sidewalks from the area near St. Mary Roman Catholic Church to Boyers Avenue. Tuesday morning, several corners had been dug up while heavy equipment operators were continuing to move toward the river.

Bobby Doyle, Star City's building code official, previously said Lakecrest would handle the ADA ramps through a contract with West Virginia Department of Transportation, saving the town about $100,000.

University Avenue is a state road, but Star City is replacing the sidewalks.

Thrasher Engineering is handling the overall sidewalk project and will collect the bids, determine the best option and pass that information onto Doyle. At its Sept. 15 meeting, council voted to give Doyle the go-ahead to contact the business with the winning bid so the work could begin immediately.

Doyle said the company would have 120 days to complete the sidewalks and would be penalized $1,000 per day if they go over, so it's important for the work to begin as soon as possible.

The town will hold a pre-bid meeting at 10 a.m. today with the opening of bids schedule for 2 p.m. Oct. 15.

Star City Town Council will next meet at 6 p.m. Oct. 6.