By Cathy Higgins
BAY MINETTE, Ala. — Thanks to North Baldwin Utilities, several Bay Minette roadways are undergoing a makeover.
During NBU’s regular November board meeting Monday morning, General Manager Jason Padgett announced that the organization has been working with the city of Bay Minette to re-pave several streets.
“Last week, we paved six streets,” he told the board, explaining that the work was conducted in the Powell Heights subdivision, which houses an NBU equalization pond.
NBU first dug into those streets to repair underground water or gas pipes, Padgett said. It’s a process not uncommon for the organization.
“We tear up a lot of streets because of repairs,” he told the board. “We budget money each year to go back and repave where we’ve done those repairs.”
But Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery pointed out that work in Powell Heights was a long time coming.
“This is an area that’s been neglected for many, many years,” she told the board.
Padgett added that tending to that neglect did not cut into much of NBU’s resources.
“It costs money for the asphalt,” the general manager said.
In addition to budgeting the asphalt, NBU also collaborates with the city of Bay Minette on upcoming paving projects.
“We’ll work with the city after the first of the year to pave a couple of more streets,” Padgett said.
In the meantime, NBU will delve into the ground a little closer to downtown, as part of a state-approved sewer-rehabilitation project.
“From now to Christmas, we’ll be digging under Hand Avenue, making those repairs,” Padgett said.
That’s because the Alabama Department of Transportation has tapped the road to become a truck-bypass route, and work will begin early next year on bringing that about. Padgett explained that in anticipation of that work, NBU checked and repaired gas and sewer lines running underneath the street.
“We were just working and trying to stay ahead of the game,” he said.
