The city of Emporia has recently wrapped up two major infrastructure-related projects.
Earlier this month, Emporia’s Public Works Department concluded its chipseal project on several portions of downtown Emporia. According to Department Director Dean Grant, despite a few minor complaints due to the work, the project went very smoothly.
Grant explains the chip sealing process.
Depending on the level of traffic on a specific roadway, chipsealing can last up to seven years.
Grant says chipsealing is a great cost-effective process that both reduces the amount of rehab needed on city streets and does not impact travel on roadways as it does not require a prolonged period of time to set much like slurry seal, which the city has historically used for street preservation efforts in years past. Grant tells KVOE News that the Public Works Department is planning to continue recommending chip sealing to the Emporia City Commission for future preservation projects.
The chip seal project follows the conclusion of another major venture for the city which wrapped up back in late July, the city’s water burnout. According to Grant, the burnout process is designed to clear out nitrifying bacterias from city water lines as well as built-up chemicals such as nitrates.
Grant says that the nitrifying bacterias are essentially harmless to people, however, they can drastically reduce the chlorine residual level in a city’s water supply, potentially opening the door for more harmful bacteria to enter and grow in said water supply. Nitrates on the other hand can be very harmful to toddlers and babies according to Grant.
The typical burnout process usually takes two weeks to complete, however, the city’s recent venture took upwards of six. Grant says the longer time period allowed the city to not only service its residents but wholesale water users as well.
Additionally, Grant says the longer time frame will “hopefully” reduce the frequency with which the city has to conduct burnouts in the future.
