More money for street repair welcome news for El Dorado

Thursday, El Dorado City Council members agreed to request $5 million from the El Dorado Works Board to add to the city’s street improvement budget.

It’s welcome news. While some city roads are in good shape, some are simply unacceptable. Road repair isn’t cheap, and it’s never completely finished. But it’s an issue El Dorado needs to put more resources behind, something the city council is prepared to do.

The $5 million funding request is an excellent step in the right direction. And it’s obviously something residents are calling for, as council members discussed how often they heard from constituents about the condition of

city streets.

One of them, Judy Ward, suggested putting the $5 million into the next fiscal year’s budget, divided equally between each ward. On average, the city has about $1 million a year for street improvements, and it costs roughly $185,000 to repair each street. There’s 22 streets on this year’s improvement list, although inclement weather has affected the pace of work, according to Director of Public Works Robert Edmond. So that means some streets on the list won’t be worked on this year.

More good news came out of Thursday’s meeting: public works is purchasing new equipment that will allow employees to determine the condition of streets as they drive over them. That updated street condition data should be useful information as the city works on developing a street improvement plan.

What city streets do you think need the most work?

Do you like the idea of the $5 million being divided equally between wards?

Send in your thoughts, and any photos of streets in need of repair, to cslinkard@eldoradonews.com. We’ll share your thoughts with the rest of the community.