Officials working to open roadways

Published 3:39 pm Tuesday, January 12, 2016

A pair of roads remained closed in the City of Greenville following heavy rains during the week of Christmas, but that could soon change.

On Monday, Mayor Dexter McLendon outlined a plan to the City Council to get Glendale Avenue and Sherling Lake Road reopened by early February.

Both roads were caved in due to more than 10 inches of rain falling in the area. McLendon said he and Milton Luckie, superintendent of the Public Works Department for the City of Greenville, met with officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Saturday to discuss the possibility of receiving federal aid to help offset the cost of repairing the roads.

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“They came and looked at it, and they have told us they feel like it meets all the requirements for us to get some money,” McLendon said. “We’ll probably get 80 to 85 percent (of what the repairs cost). I want everyone to know that there is not a 100 percent guarantee until that happens. They told us we would probably get our money within four to six weeks.”

In order to qualify for reimbursement, the city must obtain at least three quotes for the work.

McLendon said he and Luckie have already talked to companies interested in taking on the project. The quotes the city has already received range from $100,000 to $350,000.

McLendon said the repairs to Sherling Lake Road will cost in the neighborhood of $30,000.

“Milton and his guys are going to be able to do most of that themselves,” he said.

On Monday, the council voted to give McLendon the authority to enter into a contract with the low bidder in order to get the work started in a timely manner, rather than wait for the next city council meeting on Jan. 25.

“We need to be able to go ahead and get both of these fixed, at the best price we can, and get it turned into FEMA and see if we can get some of the money back,” McLendon said.

According to McLendon, work could start next Monday and the roads could be open in less than two weeks.

The city will pay for the projects out of capital improvements and then seek reimbursement.