Ninth St. reopens to through traffic

A team of motivated contractors plus a stretch of favorable weather gives Mark Thiel justification for mentioning four of the most welcome words in road construction, regarding an overhaul of Ninth Street.

“We’re ahead of schedule,” said Thiel, the city’s assistant director of public works.

Ninth Street, from Highland Drive to Emery Road, is back open to through traffic after being closed June 11.

Work to widen Ninth Street and add a left-turn lane at the intersection of Ninth and Avalon Road is complete, returning the busy stretch of Ninth — it averages 17,000 vehicles per day — back to normal flow.

Crews from R.D. Johnson and its subcontractors still remain busy rebuilding curbs and milling and overlaying pavement along a longer stretch, from Emery to Tennessee Street. The section from Iowa Street to Highland Drive already has been resurfaced.

The project is scheduled to be finished on or before Aug. 7.