By 1808Delaware
A drive down North Liberty Street, a walk through Library Park or a bicycle ride along Sawmill Parkway could soon come with a smoother stretch of pavement. Powell has approved nearly $3 million in maintenance work reaching from neighborhood cul-de-sacs to some of the city’s busiest travel corridors.
At its September 1 meeting, Powell City Council approved a $2,996,266.74 contract with Strawser Paving Company for the 2026 Street and Path Maintenance Program. The work includes roadway resurfacing and reconstruction, shared-use path repairs, pavement preservation, sidewalk improvements and curb ramp work. For residents, the project will bring temporary construction disruptions along with improvements to the routes they use for errands, school trips, recreation and daily commutes.
Getting to Pavement Before It Gets Worse
The annual program begins with an assessment of what Powell’s streets need. Each year, the city works with Pavement Management Group to evaluate pavement conditions throughout its street network. Those findings help identify priorities and determine where maintenance dollars can have the greatest impact. The goal is to address deterioration before a street requires more costly reconstruction. That means the work varies by location: some pavement needs resurfacing or deeper repairs, while other streets receive treatments intended to extend their useful life.
Powell has significantly increased its investment in infrastructure maintenance and improvements since 2022, supported by additional revenue from the city’s 2% income tax, which voters approved in 2021.
Where Street Work Is Planned
Pavement resurfacing, with curb replacement and/or full-depth repairs, is planned for:
- North Liberty Street
- Thornbury Lane
- City Hall parking lot, western parking bay
- Zion Drive
- Wagon Trail North
- Wagon Trail East
- Ashmoore Court
- Gradall Court
- Andover Drive
- Donerail Avenue
- Gainsway Court
- Hartfield Court
- Murphy Parkway, from Powell Road to Wagon Trail East
Partial-depth spot repairs are scheduled for Isabella Blue Drive, Triple Crown Crossing, Friesian Drive and the main parking area at City Hall.
Another group of streets will receive pavement rejuvenation, a preservation treatment intended to help maintain existing pavement:
- West Case Avenue
- Village Point Drive
- Sharp Street
- Beech Trail Court
- Kingston Avenue
- Bethany Avenue
- O’Quinn Court
- Whitegate Court
- Woodsfield Court
- Bluff Ridge Court
- McCreary Court
- Glenlivet Place
- Squires Court
- Andover Drive
- Stamford Drive
Andover Drive appears in both the resurfacing and pavement rejuvenation portions of the program.
Paths Are Part of the Picture
The maintenance program also reaches beyond the roadway, with shared-use path work planned at these locations:
- Salisbury Drive
- Sawmill Parkway
- Zion Drive
- Powell Road, from Sawmill Parkway to Traditions Way
- Murphy Parkway, from Powell Road to Wagon Trail
- Library Park
- Laurel Valley Drive North
- Grey Oak Drive, from Sawmill Road to Shyanne Drive
- Grandshire Drive
- Powell Road South at Arbor Ridge Park
Together with sidewalk improvements and curb ramp work, those projects make pedestrian and bicycle routes a substantial part of this year’s investment.
Two Phases With Schools in Mind
Construction will proceed in two phases. The first includes most of the program and carries a contractual duration of 90 days. The second has a 60-day construction window. Because some of that work is near schools, it will be scheduled while school is out of session. Those windows describe the allotted construction periods; specific schedules will be provided as work progresses. Residents should expect temporary traffic restrictions, construction activity and intermittent impacts in the affected areas.
For now, the approved list gives Powell residents a look at where the investment is headed. As crews begin moving through the program, the city will provide updates to help people plan around the work.
Image by s m anamul rezwan from Pixabay
