Paving scheduled for next week on Royal City's Apple Avenue

ROYAL CITY — The first phase of upgrades to Apple Avenue Northeast is reaching the finish line as the construction season winds down.  

"They should start laying the asphalt Oct. 26," said Public Works Director Mauricio Romero. "Hopefully by the end of the month, everything should be ready to go so (driers) can start using it.  

The road is being completely rebuilt, with upgrade drainage and stormwater collection improvements; it's being widened with new curbs and gutters and ADA-compliant ramps. The first phase includes the section from Road 13 Southwest at the city limits to Poplar Street Northeast. 

Total project cost will be about $1.06 million with about $52,000 of that coming from the city. The rest, about 95 percent, was paid with a grant from the Transportation Improvement Board. 

City officials are working on a TIB grant for the second phase, from Poplar to Slate streets. The third phase would extend from Slate Street to the intersection with Road 12 Northwest. 

As Royal City grows, one of the directions that growth is going is to the east, along streets that have Apple Avenue as an access point. Continuing residential development is underway along Poplar Street between Apple Avenue and Ahlers Avenue North. An existing apartment complex now has single-family homes around it with more development planned.   

Royal City Finance Director Janice Flynn said in an earlier interview that Apple Avenue has been getting a lot more traffic as a result, along a road that wasn't built for it.  

Apple Avenue does connect Road 12 SW and SR 26. However, the section from Road 13 Southwest to SR 26 is outside the Royal City city limits. Any work on that section would be the responsibility of Grant County, Flynn said.