PROSPECT — Motorists will now have an easier time navigating Prospect’s streets.
Over the past two weeks, the town has removed portions of rock ledges to widen two streets.
“It started last week when we improved an intersection on Matthew Street and Blue Trail Drive,” Mayor Robert Chatfield said. “We had outcroppings of ledge that impaired vision when coming out of Blue Trail Drive or turning into the road.”
Chatfield explained the town was able to cut back approximately 200 feet of ledge and loose shale.
This work also had a second positive effect on the town in the form of a snow shelf. Chatfield said prior to this work the snow plows could only push the snow against the ledge and it would ultimately fall back into the road. The creation of this ledge allowed the snow to have somewhere to go, so the road will remain plowed.
After the work on that intersection was finished, Chatfield said the next logical place to remove ledge from was on Plank Road.
“It was the narrowest section of road in town,” Chatfield said. “It got to the point that if a snow plow met a school bus, they wouldn’t be able to pass.”
The work on Plank Road was wrapped up on Tuesday, which was quicker than the town expected. Chatfield said due to water freezing and thawing in the ledge over time, removing part of the ledge was not as hard as expected.
The section of Plank Road the town worked on, which was about halfway between Matthew Street and Summit Road, gained approximately four feet of width.
Chatfield said that when the town starts paving roads, that road will be the first one that gets paved.
The town spent approximately $1,400 to rent the machinery to do the work. The work and removal of the ledge was done by town employees, Chatfield said.
