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Long-overdue street improvements finally near for Williamsport

Hillside Avenue in the Williamsport’s West End is one of the most deteriorated streets in the city. The street is so bad that when it was milled down as the first step in its resurfacing its condition already was improved.

And it is not the only street in Williamsport in that condition. Dozens of thoroughfares in the city are long past overdue for resurfacing.

Mayor Gabriel J. Campana and his administration are aware of the deteriorating condition of a high percentage of city streets and they say they are about to attack the situation.

At a news conference held at Hillside Avenue and Newberry Street a week ago, the mayor promised a $1.8 million street improvement program that he says will make quite a few people “very, very happy.”

We suspect he is correct about that, but the first reaction is going to be impatience and irritation. Street resurfacing means detours and one-lane, flagman-supervised traffic, which motorists typically are not thrilled about.

The happiness will be long overdue. The perception for several years has been that city leaders have done a good job of revitalizing, modernizing and developing center city but have not made other infrastructure a high enough priority.

That matches the reality city residents experience when they are driving over bumpy streets and watching sewer improvements that seem to take forever to complete.

Much of the glacial pace of infrastructure work is a function of funding shortcomings.

A combination of city funding, state liquid fuels funding, and allocations through the Williamsport Water Authority, UGI and UGG is making this year’s street work financial outlay large enough to have a noticeable impact.

At least that’s what’s being promised.

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