Pottstown residents may have noticed some serious road repair work occurring on Sheridan Street over the past few weeks.
The condition of the street between Walnut and Beech has been exceptionally poor, as noted by Pottstown residents who reside there as well as visitors to The Hill School Center For The Arts and campus athletics facilities.
Facilities administrators at The Hill reached out to the Borough of Pottstown on April 22 to inquire about whether this infamous street was on the paving schedule. They learned it was not in the queue, largely due to issues that would make this work prohibitively expensive. Rich Bouher, Capital Construction Project Manager for The Hill, explained that this particular street had very old brick gutters and more than 12 inches in depth of longstanding paving that had to be removed before repairs and resurfacing could begin. In addition, new concrete curbing had to be installed as part of the project.
With an eye toward improving the street for the neighbors who live in that row of 11 homes as well as spectators and audience members visiting the Center For The Arts and the School’s ice hockey rink and other facilities, the School asked the Borough if it could take on and pay for the project, a request that was happily granted.
The milling and paving project is underway, with completion expected soon. The cost estimate for this extensive work in the Hobart’s Run neighborhood focus area is approximately $106,000, all of which is being financed by The Hill School.
The Borough replaced remaining lead water lines with new copper lines in those Sheridan Street homes with old lead water main feeds.
“The Sheridan Street project is a testament to what can be achieved when we work together with our community partners,” said Borough Manager Justin Keller.
“Thanks to the proactive approach and financial commitment of The Hill School, we’ve been able to address longstanding issues on this critical roadway, ensuring a smoother and safer experience for both residents and visitors. This partnership has not only aided in the revitalization efforts in this neighborhood, but also allowed the Borough to extend its paving efforts borough-wide, completing more miles of roadway improvements than would have been possible otherwise.”