JOHNSTOWN — The city has fixed a culvert problem near the Johnstown Senior Center that has hampered traffic flow on East Main Street and caused flooding problems for some time, City Engineer Christopher Vose reported to the Common Council.
Vose told the council Monday night at City Hall the city was finally able to put a needed pipe in during the middle of last week, and traffic is now flowing freely on East Main Street.
“We got the road back open,” Vose said.
The city engineer said that even after the pipe was installed, there were some “small issues” that were easily corrected.
Problems with the culvert near the center have existed for about five years and associated issues closed a section of East Main Street — one of the city’s main thoroughfares — for quite a period this year. The culvert has also caused flooding problems in that section of the city for several years.
A pipe was ordered recently by the city, and the city obtained a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers to do the work. The pipe was run under the senior center.
Elsewhere in his report to the council, Vose said Siemens Industry Inc. did an audit of city lights.
“We did several walk arounds of the [city] buildings,” he said.
The council in August selected Siemens to assist the city with a new LED street lighting project involving building lights and street lights. The firm was selected among five entities that responded to the city’s request for qualifications.
City officials have said they want to conserve energy and reduce costs through installation of LED street lighting system upgrades across the city. The city has 641 street lights, according to Mayor Vern Jackson. Officials also see the project as economical, and it should save the city money down the road with a new system that is a more efficient way to handle maintenance of street lights.
Vose reported city Department of Public Works leaf pickup in the city is essentially completed for another year. He said DPW will do some “spot checking” at this point.
The city’s brush drop off on West Main Street will only stay open a short time longer before it is also shut down until spring, Vose said.
Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at [email protected].
