October saw the completion of the paving project on Central Avenue. However it appears that according to Director of Public Works Randy Woodbury it was done incorrectly.

“The four intersections were a city project,” Woodbury started. “Millard Fillmore and village line were a city project, but the rest of it was a county project.”

The manholes and some of the receivers are well below the blacktop level and some residents have complained about the drops in the road that in their estimate average four-to-six-inches, with some even deeper.

“The city was required to provide all the riser rings,” Woodbury noted. “The contractor didn’t adequately put them on.”

According to Woodbury, the county engineers have reserved quite a large witholding on payment for that road so that they come back in the spring with fresh blacktop, dig out all those manhole covers and rise them up to the correct level.

“The ones that are really deep, we’re going to put blacktop in there and then dig them back out,” Woodbury said. “The city will help the county put bandaids on it to get it through and then we will help the county enforce the contract to make it right by springtime.”

Fourth Ward Councilman Mike Civiletto said that he was under the impression that the contractors were supposed to mill down to the brick, which is roughly four-inches and then top the road with an inch-and-a-half of asphalt. His concern was for the lost curbside. According to Civiletto, more than 50 percent of the curb edge has been lost, due to too much blacktop, or not enough milling. While there has been standing water in a few spots, it’s not been terrible, his biggest concern is when dirt accumulates on the edges of the road in more places, as that will cause a lot more issues.

“This is the first time this contractor has done any work in the city of Dunkirk,” Woodbury commented.