By Alyssa Schnugg
Staff writer
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com
The good news? Construction to widen Jefferson Avenue could be completed about a week ahead of schedule. The bad news? The road will have to be closed for approximately 13 days to get it done.
The contractor, J.M. Duncan Inc., submitted a request to close the road beginning June 27 to the Oxford Board of Aldermen that was approved unanimously Tuesday night. The portion to be closed runs from the intersection of North Lamar Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue, then west to the front of Oxford Floral.
The road will be closed starting June 27 for four days while workers demolish part of the road, relocate utilities and form the new structure for the road. It will close again on July 2 and remain closed until July 11—with a possible one day opening on July 8—while crews put in the curb and gutter.
The road is being widened to add a turning lane to help alleviate traffic back up in anticipation of the future downtown parking garage that is planned to be constructed in the nearby city parking lot.
The completion date is scheduled for Aug. 7 when the road is expected to be stripped; however, Robinson said the road should be ready to open by the end of July before school starts in August.
“The contractor estimates the closure will gain about six days in the construction process,” Robinson said.
Schools in Oxford open Aug. 8 and Jefferson Avenue is the main route for buses going from Bramlett Elementary and the Oxford Middle School to the Oxford Intermediate School off Washington Avenue.
