Work on road realignment is underway at the intersection of Voorhees and Jackson streets in Danville . Photo by Hannah Shillo
Road work ahead in Danville
BY HANNAH SHILLO HANNAH . SHILLO @ DANCOMNEWS . COM
One might have noticed an increase in road work while driving through Danville in the last year .
The public works department has been monitoring what roads in the city need the most attention , and giving those roads the attention they need .
City engineer Sam Cole estimated in April that the city would touch about 21 percent of roads in 2022 , whether that is maintenance , repairs or reconstruction .
Looking at the road construction map on the city ’ s website , and making note of the traffic cones spread throughout the city , it is clear they are working toward that goal .
Cole said there have been quite a few challenges the department has had to overcome as well , including delays beyond control .
Most of the delays are not so much caused by a lack of supply as they are because of a lack of ability to process the material and deliver it where it needs to go , Cole said , especially with trucking shortages and staffing shortages in the trades .
“ This is a case in all realms of work in the U . S .,” he said . “ The backfill of the workforce isn ’ t there .”
Though he said it ’ s gotten worse each year for the last 10 years or so , 2021 was the first year Cole noticed trucking shortages were starting to drive whether or not crews could even put asphalt down .
“ The asphalt plant might be able to make it and put it down , but they have to have trucks to haul it and the availability of truckers and trucks is driving what work they can even get done ,” he said . “ Last year was the first year I even recall that being a thing . I expect the contractors have been more aware of it than we have but we ’ ve started to see the impact of that .”
Despite the challenges faced , crews have been out all summer in various parts of the city with plenty of “ road work ahead ” signs out and about .
Jackson Voorhees Realignment
Work began on the realignment project at the intersection of North Jackson and
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