Bumpy roads continue after newly paved road torn up in Elmira

ELMIRA, N.Y. ( WETM ) — Motorists in Elmira enjoyed a smooth ride on parts of East Water Street for less than three days after crews tore up the road again on Monday, with more digging projects coming.

For months East Water Street was in rough condition after many patchwork and construction jobs, all of that changed on Friday, Sept. 13, when a temporary paving project was done, smoothing out a strip of road from Clemens Center Parkway to Madison Avenue.

Those good road conditions didn’t last long after a section was dug up on Monday, Sept. 16, for a piping project. The project was completed, but a dip in the road is now prevalent.

According to Chemung County Department of Public Works Deputy Commissioner, Jason French, the road work was done to make sure it was paved before winter. The contractor has many more scheduled projects to work on and wasn’t sure if they’d be able to get back to Elmira before the asphalt plants close down for the season. The decision was then made to do the paving project even though the pipe replacement projects weren’t yet completed.

French told 18 News on Wednesday that the contractors doing the digging still have more projects to complete on East Water Street. French said that one project involves digging up some of the Madison Avenue intersection, but that can’t be done until at least one of the northbound lanes on the Clemens Center Bridge is reopened to divert traffic.

Once all of the pipe replacement projects are completed the contractors will go back and refurbish the areas that were dug up to make them smooth again.

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