Demonstration block taking shape

PAVING CREW: Employees of Eagle Paving spread a fresh layer of asphalt on East Center Street in Anderson as other subcontractors finish up landscaping, fence building and tree planting in the downtown demonstration block.

Following a feverish week of activity fueled partly by hot summer daytime temperatures, work on the Anderson downtown demonstration block is beginning to approach a completed state, Public Works Director Jeff Kiser reported Friday.

"We've had a very productive week. East Center Street is fully paved and the sidewalks and street are back together 100 percent," Kiser said.

Omni Means and Sitework Solutions crews were busy overseeing at least two other subcontractors at work who were installing sections of ornamental metal fencing and laying down large swaths of asphalt paving in 103-degree heat.

"The contractor was able to complete the paving this week and was working on getting some of the striping done today," Kiser said Friday. The striping should be completed by Monday or Tuesday, he noted.

The decorative fence work between the landscaped portion and the railroad access and right-of-way is continuing at a good solid pace, held back only by the speed at which the fabricator can create the fence panels, Kiser added.

On Friday, Anderson-based Welsch Fence and Iron employees Tom Torgerson and Randy Lahm, both of Redding, were positioning sections of the decorative fence as they waited patiently for the quick-drying adhesive concrete to set.

Further down the block, crew members from Eagle Paving were sweeping the sidewalk and gutter clean of dirt and other construction debris in anticipation of the asphalt application to come later that same morning.

Meanwhile, landscaper Jim Catchidall was cutting sprinkler tube access holes in plastic housings that will eventually cover all of the in-ground irrigation system's components and connections, partly for aesthetic reasons and partly for security, explained Heath Hampton of Sitework Solutions, and general contracting company hired for the landscaping portion.

"There's probably two or three weeks worth of work left to get done, but Sitework Solutions is about two weeks ahead of schedule," Kiser reported, noting that he expects all of the work to be completed well ahead of the August 17 deadline.

"The real goal was to be done in time for the September 12 street fair that is designed to show off that project in its completed form," Kiser noted. "We will beat that deadline for sure."