Published: May 28, 2008 10:42 am      

Phase two of Daisy Lane improvement project to begin next week

A portion of Daisy Lane in New Albany will be closed as early as Tuesday for utility work as part of plans for street improvements.

Utility relocations and installations from State Street to Green Valley Road on Daisy Lane will require the area to be closed to through traffic said John Rosenbarger, director of facilities for the Public Works.

After utility work is completed, construction for phase two of the Daisy Lane project will start. Eastbound and westbound through traffic will be routed around the construction area via a detour route, Rosenbarger said.

The detour route will follow State Street, Knable Lane and Green Valley Road. There will be access for local residents and businesses at all times.

An access road for members of Holy Family Catholic Church and Holy Family School — located along Daisy Lane — will be completed by the end of June, said project manager Tom Schellenberg.

“That way, they won’t have to deal at all with coming off Daisy Lane,” said Schellenberg, who is employed by the consulting engineers for the project, Jacobi, Toombs and Lanz Inc.

He said the work on Daisy Lane is moving along, with completion of phase two scheduled for November. Plans were previously approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety for phase two, with funding OK’d by the Redevelopment Commission.

During a Tuesday meeting, the Redevelopment Commission awarded a contract to Excel Excavating for work on phase two of the project. Rosenbarger said Excel had the lowest sum of the bids taken.

“We’re actually starting earlier than we normally would, since there is so much utility work involved,” Schellenberg said.

Work could begin Tuesday, depending on construction details still being ironed out, Schellenberg said. A preconstruction meeting is scheduled for today to finalize plans.

Improvements for Daisy Lane will include widening the street from two to three lanes, resurfacing, and the addition of curbs, gutters and sidewalks on each side.

New storm sewers will be added as needed and there will be modernization of existing traffic signals, Schellenberg said. There are a total of four phases of work planned for Daisy Lane.