Gjorche Petrov Municipality begins paving Chrom’s main street after months of disruption
After six months of excavation that halted bus service, workers say they will lay tamping now and start asphalting on Monday.
Gjorche Petrov Municipality has started asphalt works on the main street of the Chrom neighbourhood, residents and on-site workers said, after roughly six months of excavation that left the route impassable for buses and covered the area in dust.
Workers on site told reporters they are currently laying a base layer (tampion), and that paving with asphalt is scheduled to begin on Monday.
The reconstruction project formally began on 3 March. Plans for the roughly 900-metre street, Voin Drashkoci, include a new stormwater drainage system, new pedestrian paths and a fresh asphalt surface.
Residents complain of prolonged disruption
“It takes them half a year to rebuild a 900-metre street. In half a year several apartment buildings have sprung up in the neighbourhood, while the Municipality can't finish a single street. We're choking on the dust, we've wrecked our cars on the potholes and we've been left without bus service, so in this heat we have to walk 20 minutes to the bus stop in Vlae,” said a 45-year-old resident of Chrom.
Two months ago Mayor Aleksandar Stojkoski told reporters the works were progressing slowly because the contractor encountered underground installations. “It has to be dug by hand so a pipe isn't hit and a bigger problem created. The lack of records for underground installations poses a big problem for us. According to the contractor's announcements, the street will be ready in a month. I will talk to those responsible at JSP 'Skopje' about the problem with the buses so that a solution for public transport for residents can be found,” Stojkoski said in June.
Residents say the long-running works, new residential buildings and the temporary loss of bus service have strained local infrastructure: sidewalks and streets are often blocked by parked cars, kindergartens report no free places and the local school operates without a proper hall or yard.
The municipality and the contractor have given a timeline for finishing the street; residents say they will monitor whether paving and restoration of public transport follow the announced schedule.
Photo: SDK.MK)
