Street and sidewalk repairs on tap in Sarcoxie

(From the City of Sarcoxie)

Over the next two weeks, public works will be busy with several street and sidewalk repairs. Please use caution when traveling in these work zones:

On Monday, March 18th, 18th Street between Linda Lane and Joplin Street will be blocked while public works repairs a broken water line in the street.

The intersection of 7th and Oak Street will be closed while major repairs are completed this week.

A large street repair will be completed on Center Street between 11th and 12th Streets next week.

Over the next two weeks, public works will also roll out a new system for repairing smaller potholes. Once the bugs are worked out, we will have a trailer equipped with everything needed to permanently repair these potholes without having to rely on concrete trucks. This will save tax dollars and speed up repairs.

The sidewalk on the south side of Center Street, between 7th and 8th Streets is scheduled to finish the tear out and be poured by next week.

While on the topic of streets, in late February, we published Sarcoxie’s 2024 action plans in the newspaper and social media after it was approved by the City Council. For transportation (streets & sidewalks) the approved plans included:

Commit to at least $5,000 a year in sidewalk repairs that focus on the worst sidewalks on the square and along collector streets.

A steady stream of concrete patches of potholes and utility repairs that were never properly repaired. This will include mobilizing our equipment to mix our own concrete to fix several small holes.

Continue to seek grants and funding assistance to properly repair and asphalt streets with Center Street from 11th to 14th being the first priority.

The repairs noted above are only a start to our plan for 2024 to be a big year in improving the streets and sidewalks of our city. Public Works is implementing a structured program for concrete patching potholes that involves dedicating a 2-person team 3 days a month to make these repairs. While that may not sound like much time, this will result in a significant reduction in potholes in the city over the next several months without neglecting all of our other responsibilities.

Patching potholes alone is not the answer we need to get our streets up to the standards we deserve. To that end, I am very happy to announce that, as of January 1, 2024, Sarcoxie now qualifies for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and we have already started working with the Harry S Truman Coordinating Council to apply for a street repair grant to replace much of Center Street. More to follow on this as we progress but this is the grant opportunity we have long waited for to help us make true long term repairs to Center Street. If successful, we will be able to apply for this grant every year, as long as they offer it.

Please read more about our long-term transportation vision and our 2024 action plans.

Again, please use caution around the work zones noted above!

Mayor Don Triplett