SEBASTIAN — Drivers on Barber Street north of County Road 512 can expect travel headaches in the near future as the City begins road reconstruction work.
The Sebastian City Council Wednesday night approved a budget of $478,000 to rebuild Barber Street from CR 512 to Salem Avenue. Work is expected to get underway in the coming weeks.
One member of the public asked about the timing and how residents along the road would be able to maintain access to their homes.
City Engineer Frank Watanabe addressed the concerns, noting that the work would be staged in a way to allow access for residents. One side of the road would be worked on and then the other side to provide for residential traffic.
“We apologize for that,” City Manager Joe Griffin said of the inconvenience road construction causes. “It’s a necessary evil.”
Councilman Richard Gillmor concurred with the need for the road’s reconstruction, explaining that the portion of Barber Street south of CR 512 was rebuilt a number of years ago.
“Barber Street (north) really needs it,” he said. “It’s long overdue.”
He said that he’s noticed that the rain has worked its way into the road’s base and is causing problems.
Mayor Bob McPartlan raised the issue of drainage, wondering if the grass along the road would be bladed to allow for water run-off.
Griffin said the City would take care of that matter, using the machinery it has to do so.
Watanabe added that he would have liked to raise the road a couple inches but the City would have had to repair driveways – the work would have far exceeded the budget.
