CHARLESTON, W.Va. Engineers in the city of Charleston and with the Division of Highways have finally settled on a way to make repairs to a long standing headache in South Hills.
As crews pave Oakwood Road in the next few weeks, they will also move the disjointed sidewalk between George Washington High School and Overbrook Elementary School.
“To replace the existing sidewalk was financially not reasonable for us or the DOH, because it’s falling off the side of the hill and has been for years,” said Matt Sutton, chief of staff to Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin.
Instead of a replacement, the sidewalk will be moved across the street and a new sidewalk will be constructed on the north side of the road. It’s a move, which Sutton said made the most sense.
“We didn’t like the idea of kids crossing the street one more time over by GW, but that was the safest thing to do to make sure those kids had safe place to walk to and from school,” Sutton said.
The timing isn’t the best, but since it’s a project which must involve the DOH, Sutton said they couldn’t do it on their own timeline. Construction in the neighborhood has also been a controlling factor in the work. However, Sutton hopes the community will be patient as they work to pave the road and build a completely new sidewalk.
“Give us a couple of weeks to fix that sidewalk and for the next decade they’ll be able to walk on it and not have to worry about it,” he said.
Sutton was a guest Monday on 580 Live with Danny Jones.