BY KYLE RAINEY | News Editor
Major construction related to the addition of sidewalks and other improvements on Droste Road is underway and is expected to be finished by the end of the year, city officials said. Superficial work, like landscaping, will continue through next summer.
Exposed concrete drains large enough to crawl through, weathered yellow excavators and scarred backyards are the beginnings of an alleyway that will run behind Droste Road and Anneric Street homes on the western edge of campus.
City Project Manager Matt Seggerman said students can expect to see construction workers arrive at 7 a.m. to work.
Seggerman told Lindenlink in 2015 that the decision to build an alleyway was made so that students can leave their homes without backing out of their driveways into oncoming traffic.
Although walking near Droste Road homes may become difficult while sidewalks are being built, Seggerman said traffic won’t be rerouted from Droste Road at any point.
Diane Moore, assistant vice president of Operations and Facilities, said the university is working with the city of St. Charles to assure students have access to their driveways until the road and parking behind campus homes is finished.
According to the Droste Road project description, the reconstruction will stretch from Duchesne Drive to 300 feet before the West Clay Street intersection.
Improvements are to include:
- Complete pavement reconstruction
- Sidewalk improvements
- Utility adjustments
- Driveway access improvements
Droste Road expenses have so far cost $5.2 million, which is just over $2 million more than the project’s original $2.17 million budget.
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Click and slide the white line back and forth to see a current aerial photo of Droste Road between Charbo Street and Patma Street in comparison to the city’s proposed plans for this section of the road.
Graphic by Phil Brahm
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