Montgomery County anticipates it will spend $2.1 million repaving the streets of Cabin John this summer. The project is to begin after July 1 and once underway will take roughly three months, according to county officials who came to the March 29 CJCA meeting to provide an overview of the work. Your roads are in bad shape, which means “we will be building brand new roads,” said John Birton, program manager with the Department of Highway Services.
Birton explained that concrete work and curbs will be done first and then roadways will be repaved. Curbs will not be added to road unless they existed before the repaving. The new asphalt is quick drying and should be dry in about an hour. Work is done on one side of the street at a time to allow for traffic. However, there may be short periods when residents will not have access to their driveways. No roads are slated to be widened as part of the project.
Residents will receive a comprehensive project newsletter about three weeks before the project begins and signs will be posted at least 48 hours before repaving starts on a road, according to Norman Smith, the project manager who will be on site daily. The work is schedule between the hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. However, hours could be extended and Saturday work permitted to expedite the project. Trash and recycling trucks should have no trouble working around the repaving operations. Once the project is underway, the county will post updates on their website.
The actual work will be performed by a private contractor under contract to the county. While the contractor is in Cabin John, Smith said, residents will be able to take advantage of the county’s competitive bid contract prices to repair their driveway aprons. The driveway apron is the portion of the driveway, often concrete, that is within the public right-of-way. Driveway repairs are also be a possibility as the contractors are allowed to do private work too.
Dan Sheridan, with the county’s division of transportation engineering took questions on 17 areas with planned modifications to address drainage concerns. Residents raised a number of water concerns, including pooling at the 79th Street underpass to Riverside Dr. the intersection of Arden Rd. and 76th Street and areas of 81st and 83rd streets. “There are not a lot of storm drains out there so we are limited in what we can do,” said Sheridan. However, he believes they will be able to address minor issues.
Pamela Rowe from the county’s department of Environmental Protection said her department is working with the highway division to see about a broader approach to stormwater issues in Cabin John, including the possibility of biorentention swales at the bottom of some streets. Rowe said this effort is on a different timeline so as not to slowdown the paving project. She also noted that she has funding for a dozen more free residential RainScape assessments should anyone in Cabin John be interested.
By Susan Shipp