Which McMinnville city street is in the worst condition now that almost 60 streets have been paved? McMinnville’s Public Works Department has generated a new list.
Taking the distinction as the worst street in the city is North High Street.
“We have paved 56 streets to date,” said Public Works assistant director Brad Hennessee. “Because of that, we felt we needed to generate a new list. Now, North High Street is in the worst condition.”
The first list was generated back in early 2009 using a pavement conditioning index (PCI) program. Streets were surveyed by Public Works and rated on quality. After city officials borrowed $2 million to begin paving, the department used the list in an effort to focus on those streets that were in the worst condition.
While the honor of being named the worst street in the city may not be a delight for North High residents, the good news is that street is at the top of the new paving list because $458,000 in street paving funds remain out of the $2 million borrowed.
Hennessee says the hope is that 20 more streets can be paved before the money runs out.
“The plan is to pave until the money is gone, which is what the board told us to do,” Hennessee said. “We have generated a new paving list from the new PCI list. I want to remind everyone that just because your street made the list doesn’t mean it will be paved. We hope to pave it.”
Also on the list, are Sunnyside Heights, Riverview Street, Edgefield Street, Martin Street, Old Post Road, Villa Street, North Hills Drive, East End Drive, Grandview Avenue, Park Avenue, Stadium Drive, Taft Street, Adams Street, Calvin Street, Cedar Street, Indian Mound Drive, Bybee Drive, Clark Boulevard and Easy Street.
Four streets from the original paving list have yet to be paved:
• Oriole Drive and Cherry Lane, because they still need water and sewer line repairs that have to be done before paving.
• Red Road (from the bypass to city limits) and West Sparta Street, because the department is holding off on paving to see if alternative funding would be available from the state.
No time has been given for paving to begin on the new list.