By Olivia Gauthier | ABC 33/40
The City of Birmingham has approved nearly $13 million in funding for street resurfacing projects across the city. The city council awarded three contracts to Dunn Construction Company, the lowest bidder, to carry out the work.
Residents can visit the Birmingham Department of Transportation website to check which roads are scheduled for paving and which have already been completed.
Concerns were raised by several councilors about the timeliness and quality of previous resurfacing efforts. Councilor Valerie Abbott highlighted issues with past projects, saying, “The people who are doing the paving are paving up to the top of the curb. If you do that, you no longer have a curb. We are doing that certainly on the south side, I don’t know about other peoples districts…but, there’s a purpose for a curb, and, if you don’t have them anymore then all of your rights of way wash away when it rains.”
City Council President Darrell O’Quinn expressed uncertainty about whether Dunn Construction has previously worked with the city. However, he noted that the new contract includes measures to address past issues.
“There is a, what’s called a ‘punch list’ process that happens after the paving where, someone comes out and inspects the work.,” said O’Quinn. “With over 1000 miles of roads in the city of Birmingham that’s a lot of area to cover just in one paving package,” he said, adding that conditions are most conducive for work to begin in late summer into the fall.
