The City Engineering staff have been working with Triad Engineering to assess the sewer back-up problems our neighborhood experienced in the spring of 1996. Several options were explored and the current favorite would result in sewer improvements along Thornton Avenue between E. Johnson Street and E. Washington Ave. as well as through Burr Jones Field to the sewer main near the city garage on First Street. Additional engineering studies need to be made, but work may begin in the summer of 1999 if the project is approved in this year's budget.

The timing and location of this sewer project also intersects with the proposed Yahara River parkway recommendations. Sizable portions of the Thornton Ave. roadway may be affected by the sewer construction activities. This presents our neighborhood, affected businesses, and city staff with an opportunity to reexamine how Thornton Ave. may be reconstructed once the sewer work is completed. This is especially pertinent in light of the proposed reconstruction of the E. Washington bridge in several years. We can hopefully use this situation to balance different perspectives and reach a mutually agreeable solution that is also cost effective.

The options range from reconstruction to current conditions, narrowing the road thus creating one way traffic, and finally outright removal of major sections with an emphasis placed on providing alternate access to affected businesses. The TLNA board will consider hosting a forum for interested parties within the next four to six weeks. For further information please contact me at 255-2845.

-Ed Jepsen


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