QUINCY — People driving around Quincy will be encountering some roadwork next spring, with two projects along a major thoroughfare. City Engineer Ariel Belino told Quincy City Council members a third project will close a section of A Street Northeast. 

“The construction will happen in June, when school is out, because we’re going to close Third Street Northeast at Third and A (Street),” Belino said.  

The northeast section of Quincy is both a residential and industrial neighborhood, with pedestrian traffic in areas with limited shoulders and sidewalks. Belino said the project is designed to address some of that. 

“We’re going to repave A Street Northeast from Third to Sixth Avenue Northeast and we’re going to install sidewalks on the north side,” he said.  

A Street Northeast runs parallel to the BNSF tracks, and the project will add a guardrail next to the tracks, he said. Adding a fence was discussed, but Belino said city officials ultimately decided a fence might add to, rather than solve, some of the safety problems. 

“If you have a fence, the kids will climb over,” he said.  

The south side of the railroad tracks doesn’t have a fence, and people crossing from the south could be trapped against the fence in an emergency, he said.  

Council members awarded the project to Hurst Construction at the Nov. 5 meeting. Total project cost is about $1.33 million. 

Construction also is planned for two sections of State Route 28, designated F Street where it runs through town. Council members approved an agreement for the work to be performed along F Street Southwest between 13th Avenue Southwest and Seventh Street Southwest. 

Sidewalks and landscaping will be added, along with improved stormwater drainage in the project area. It’s part of a longer-term project to improve the look along the highways that go through town, Belino said. 

Additional roadwork is planned along F Street Southeast at the new Quincy Aquatic Center in East Park.  

The entrance will be moved and widened to allow better access to the pool, which has been moved from its existing location. The driveway also will be wider to accommodate bigger vehicles turning on and off the highway.  

The parking lot has been completed at the pool site, and most of the concrete for the pool itself has been poured. Parks and Recreation Director Russ Harrington said one section of concrete remains, since installation required the panels that will form the actual sides of the pool walls and deck, including the zero-depth entry. Those panels were delivered earlier in November.  

The walls for the locker rooms, bathrooms and concession stands are up, and crews are working on the roof.