The City of Ripon Mayor Dean Uecker asked when paving will begin on the Stockton Avenue Rehabilitation Project.

“When will it start, approximately,” he said to Senior Civil Engineer Sarah Collins at the Dec. 14 Ripon City Council meeting.

She responded with either “the end of January or February.”

Much of the work thus far has taken place underground – the Phase 1 part of the project was six months of removal of pavement, gravel and other parts of the old road surface, with sewer, storm drain, and potable water lines being included in the underground replacement efforts.

Phase 2 of the reconstruction is the laying out of the groundwork for the road, calling for widening the road to accommodate two lanes of travels coupled with a two-way left turn lane, and the pouring of new sidewalks for the street.

“In this phase, the contractor will be installing six-foot sidewalks along with curbs, gutter, to this section of the road,” according to the city website (www.cityofripon.org).

The hope here is to make Stockton Avenue pedestrian friendly to residents and visitors while promoting safety. Plans also call for street lights to be installed along this stretch of road.

Phase 3 is the homestretch of the project.

The final portion of the work – D.A. Wood Construction was awarded the project back in February – will consist of the installation of pavers as well as striping and signage.

Why pavers?

According to the City: “Pavers last longer and require significantly less maintenance than asphalt and will update Stockton Avenue to match the aesthetic qualities of Main Street.”

These pavers, however, will be larger – 100 millimeters in size – to handle the heavy truck traffic.

The concrete paver installation is expected to be completed in sections in order to accommodate traffic, and could take up four to five months.

In addition, Stockton Avenue will feature signage and striping for a Type III shared bike path.

Completion of the project is targeted for May, Collins noted.