For the past few weeks Cunningham Excavation, Inc., of Cazenovia has been hard at work on improvements to South Shore Road, with construction expected to be completed close to the Fourth of July holiday.
According to Herkimer County Superintendent of Highways Jay Ewanyk, the eight-tenths of a mile construction project involves not only laying down new pavement, but also calls for removal and replacement of the subsoil and sub base.
The project also includes installation of concrete gutters and sidewalks, as well as new drainage pipes along the road.
Additionally, Herkimer County will also slurry seal 25 miles of county roads within the Town of Webb, including South Shore, Rondaxe, Hollywood, and Big Moose Roads.Slurry sealing is a maintenance procedure that utilizes a thin layer of aggregate and emulsion to seal the road surface thereby protecting it from oxidation and water penetration.
“When it is all done it should be a huge improvement,” Ewanyk said.
The South Shore Road project ran into a few initial snags when problems with some of the utilities, the weather, and a boulder the size of a small car delayed the start of the project.
However, Ewanyk expects that most of the expected problems are out of the way.
“Projects like this tend to have some obstacles that you need to address during construction—things you just can’t anticipate in advance. But the contractor is working longer hours there with additional personnel in order to get the majority of the work done by the end of June,” Ewanyk said.
