GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The first goal of the City of Pine Bluff
Street Department is to continue to provide the best services that we can for the citizens of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
This includes the maintenance and upkeep of the streets and drainage, and to continue the
periodic clean-ups that provide the public with a place to bring unwanted items so that they can
help in keeping the City of Pine Bluff clean.
With the help of federal monies and the general fund, as it becomes
available, other
goals are as follows:
· Widening of Harding Avenue to four lanes,
between Ohio Street and Main Street at a cost of approximately 1.9
million dollars.
· Widening of Georgia Street, between Harding
Avenue and East 34th Street, plus installation of curb
and gutter at a cost of approximately two (2) million dollars.
· Widening of Hazel Street to five lanes, between
13th Avenue and 46th Avenue at a cost of
approximately 4.2 million dollars.
· Widening of Highway 54, between Highway 79 and
Chapel Heights to five lanes in order to help improve the traffic
congestion around Watson Chapel School at a cost of approximately
2.2 million dollars.
With the Street Department’s budget alone, it will take a while for
us to save this
money so that we will be able to do these projects. In the
future, we hope to have monies in the general fund along with federal grants to see that these
projects will come to pass.
Also, the Pine Bluff Street Department or the Public Works
Department would like to
start a Household Chemical Pick-Up Satellic Operation in the City
of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. This would be the first of its kind in South Arkansas, which is
greatly needed and will help the City in complying with the Stormwater Act. Hopefully,
this can and will be funded with a grant from Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District.
When we get our foot in the door, there is a lot of other possibilities, such as
paper/cardboard recycling, glass bottles, tires, and electronics, only to name a few. This will advance
our goals on keeping clean this City that we care so much about.
We, at the Pine Bluff Street Department, try to set aside
approximately $500,000
annually for paving the City streets. Also, we set aside a budget
of some $300,000 for
maintenance. Not only do we pave major streets, but also streets
in neighborhoods that in the past have only seen oil and chips. We want everyone to
have the same services and it saves the Street Department in the future.
Someday, with the help of general funds, we want to be able to pave
a million worth
of streets a year. We realize that the City is in a
financial crunch at the present, but it will come out of this crunch in the future. If we can get the
street lights out of our budget whenever the City is more stable financially, then this will allow
us to budget close to a million dollars a year for our paving projects.
Furthermore, we have some great citizens living in Pine Bluff,
Arkansas, and we also
have the greatest employees working for the Street Department and
the City, second to none.
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