The Shadow
The wait is nearly over for the unveiling of Covington’s new city streets. As Allen Dressler, Covington City Manager, asserts, the third and final phase of the project is due for completion to come the first week of August. It is a project that Dressler has been passionate about since he “inherited” it in the first phase, particularly since most all the work has been done by local contractors.
“It’s been a nice project. All local contractors and subcontractors are from the Alleghany Highlands… it’s a pleasure to work with our local contractors because they immediately have a buy-in that, ‘this is my hometown, too,’ so the quality of work has been fantastic,” Dressler said. “The communication with our business district and our contractors and our engineers and the Department of Transportation folks have been seamless, and it’s just been a real joy to have been a part of this project.”
As for when the project is expected to reach completion, Dressler says, “Going into the first week of August, we should be paving, and by the second week of August, we should be done.” There is a cabana being set up just outside the library and looking out over Jackson River on July 20. The cabana will have a roof and plenty of seating all around the interior for folks to, as Dressler put it, “read a book” or “watch the animals float around” in the water.
The lengthy project has a very short list of things still left to complete. Aside from completing the road, the city plans to put up new lamp posts; the same lamp posts that were put up on the other side of Maple in front of The Salvation Army and RC Covington Movies. “I just can’t say enough about working with our business district on this project,” Dressler said. “and our local contractors and the buy-in that they have had and I hope they’ve enjoyed working along with us and the end result to a very very nice downtown project.”
According to Allen Dressler, the completion of this project marks the beginning of several others. New locker rooms for the high school are on the horizon, as well as a pocket park, and full renovation of Rivermont School. Once completed, Rivermont will serve as an apartment complex to offer additional housing for the people of Covington.
