QUINCY — Asphalt removal should begin sometime within the next couple of weeks on three blocks of B Street Northeast in Quincy.

“A complete new road,” said Shawn Pierce, project supervisor for Hurst Construction LLC.

B Street Northeast is one of two street improvement projects underway in Quincy this summer, and a third is nearing completion. Six blocks of B Street Northeast, between Central Avenue North and Sixth Avenue Northeast, are getting a rebuild.

Hurst, an East Wenatchee company, is the contractor for the $3.2-million project. Quincy city engineer Ariel Belino said the project will make major changes along B Street.

“We’re installing a new water line, we’re installing a new stormwater system,” Belino said.

B Street Northeast also will get new sidewalks, curbs and gutters on both sides of the street and a lighted pathway, Belino said. Construction crews were digging a trench for new electrical conduit Wednesday morning.

The stormwater system will make use of gravity to help drain runoff.

“They’re called infiltration galleries,” Pierce said. “Basically it’s a drain field, like a septic system, but on a much larger scale.”

Construction crews have installed the water lines and stormwater system from Third Avenue Northeast to Sixth Avenue Northeast. Once the electrical conduit is installed, the road will be graded and get a layer of gravel, then sidewalks will be installed, PIerce said.

Once the underground work and roadbed grading is completed, crews will move on to the Central-to-Third-Avenue section.

“We didn’t want to disturb all of the street at once,” Pierce said.

The work starts with asphalt removal, then the underground infrastructure will be installed. Sidewalks and gutters come next, and the entire six blocks will be paved at the same time.

“The asphalt will be the very last thing to go down,” Pierce said.

The project must be completed by October.

J Street Southwest will be repaved between 7th Avenue Southwest and 10th Avenue Southwest. The total project cost is about $973,000, Belino said.

‘It’s basically roadway resurfacing,” Belino said.

It will also include the installation of new ADA sidewalk ramps, crosswalks and stormwater catch basins. Hurst Construction is also the contractor for that project.

The section of A Street Southeast that was upgraded is home to a number of Quincy businesses, including a food processor and a farm chemical supplier. A Street Southeast got new and bigger water and sewer lines, was paved and got new curbs and gutters. A sidewalk was added in the area around the tennis courts and baseball and softball fields behind Quincy Middle School.

The total project cost was about $1.6 million, Belino said.

The three projects are part of ongoing efforts to repair streets in need of repair and to accommodate future growth, Belino said.

Road maintenance and improvement are a priority for the city.

“Every year when we have the money we’re redoing roads that need some work,” Belino said.

Cheryl Schweizer may be reached at [email protected].