By Scott Harvey
Sulphur Springs – The Sulphur Springs City Council Tuesday heard and discussed a number of projects, several of which dealt with road construction and road safety.
City Manager Marc Maxwell presented engineering drawings for Connally Street, which are now 90 percent complete. Maxwell hopes the city can sell bonds for the project and begin construction within a couple months, once the city can find a municipal bond interest rate for long-term debt less than five percent.
The design of Connally Street would mirror the city's recent Main Street project, completed last fall. The project focused on narrowing the roadway and widening the sidewalks for more seating.
The long-awaited overhaul of Houston Street in Sulphur Springs is set to enter its first stage on April 20. Phase 1 of the project will encompass an area between Davis and Church Street. It is the smallest of the three phases but the most complicated, according to Maxwell. The section of road will be closed during construction, which should be complete by the end of the year.
The entire Houston Street project, extending from Jackson Street to League Street, is expected to take about three years. Water and sewer lines, as well as sidewalks and drainage will be redone and new concrete laid. The city sold bonds to fund the project two years ago.
Motorists in Sulphur Springs will also notice a change in speed zones to portions of Highway 154 and Highway 11. In what started as a complaint alleging a number of traffic-related accidents near Wal-Mart and Lowes, ended in a study from the Texas Department of Transportation who recommended the speed change. Drivers will now notice when traveling north into Sulphur Springs on HW 154 speeds will drop sooner than where previously posted.