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$1 million Portland sidewalk improvements are underway

120 sidewalks are on the list to be repaired. Portland Public Works Director Kenneth Banks anticipates that number will grow larger.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Portland residents have voiced their concerns over broken, tilted and cracked sidewalks. The City Council Capital Improvements program approved $1 million to address those issues.

Portland Public Works Director Kenneth Banks told 3NEWS that there's no sidewalk concern too small to address. He explained, "It can be anything from large cracks, offset sidewalks, sunken sidewalks, those will be the first round we're really going to address."

120 sidewalks are on the list to be repaired. Banks anticipates that number will grow larger.

"We've approved an outside engineering firm that was approved last Wednesday, and that engineering firm is going to go out and test these sidewalks and put together a program so we can bid them out to be replaced," Banks said.

He said phase 1 has already begun with foam injection technology that is 35% of the cost to replace sidewalks with virtually no disturbance to the surrounding area. 

"We've done one pilot project to look at our foam injections. So, it's in progress right now. It will pick up pace when we bid this out as a job." He said, "we have sidewalk issues all over the city in one form or fashion, all over the city. So, I think it would be hard to regionalize one area."    

Banks is hopeful the program will be able to provide an additional $1 million, however that proposal still has to go to council for approval.

"Really what we're after is just trying to eliminate those safety factors first," Banks said. "Not focusing as much on the cosmetics as long as the actual function of the sidewalk is good."  

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