The price of progress has left part of Newberry full of dust.
That's because of a water main replacement project along West Third and Arch streets.
The $3 million project of the Williamsport Municipal and Sanitary Authority is intended to upgrade transmission mains and the distribution system, but it has stirred up a lot of dust.
"It's the responsibility of the contractor to control dust," said John Grado, city engineer and director of community and economic development.
To do that, the contractor can either throw water on or calcium, he said. "We've had talks with the authority about this."
Those conditions should end once the cold patch asphalt and the base course is put down by mid-October, Grado said.
That's when the waterline work should be done before a permanent base coat is applied, ideally before winter, Grado said. The road will be milled and resurfaced in the spring, he said.
The authority also is replacing the water main attached to the old Arch Street Bridge in advance of its demolition. That $3.1 million project improves and extends a 30-inch water main across the West Branch of the Susquehanna River.
At least one city councilman supports more effort to make sure contractors reduce the dust caused by work and equipment used at the sites.
"That excavation on Third Street is an absolute mess," said Councilman N. Clifford "Skip" Smith. "Houses are full of dust ... I can't believe the company doing that is not made to water down houses to keep dust down. If I lived on that street, I would be furious."
City Finance Director William E. Nichols Jr. said the problem is the older water line is in the middle of the street and there is no way to relocate it.
"I don't drive it because it's dusty and a mess," Alannah Gabriel, Newberry Community Partnership and city Elm Street project manager, said of West Third Street.
She considered it to be part of dealing with the progress of the city and said it is normal for people to complain.
"Nobody has called me personally to complain," she said.
Another thing hampering drivers in the area is when they want to reach the Hiawatha Riverboat for a cruise or access Susquehanna State Park. The state Department of Transportation announced a detour last week to accommodate construction activities for a new bridge there.
"I had to cross at Maynard Street and approach Susquehanna State Park from the DuBoistown side," Gabriel said.
