Council set to accept bid on Bailey Ranch Road

Driving down Bailey Ranch Road isn’t a pleasant experience. That’s not going to get better any time soon with construction slated to begin in February to overhaul one of the most heavily traveled streets in Aledo.

Once the project is complete, however, the Bailey Ranch Road driving experience should be a vast improvement over what it is today.

When the Aledo City Council reconvenes on Dec. 1, one of the key issues on the agenda before the council will be accepting a bid for the construction project. The initial construction of Bailey Ranch Road 20 years ago was done incorrectly, leading to significant pavement failures that have made driving the stretch of road more akin to participating in the Baja 1,000 than a leisurely drive in town. Making the necessary repairs and improvements to the pavement is expected to take place in four phases that will last about 10 months.

The first phase of the project will last only a few days as utility work on the area west of Creekview Terrace is completed. During this time both lanes of traffic will be completely closed.  However, this is the only phase of the project in which that will be the case. The city is looking at possibly completing the work over a weekend to mitigate travel disruptions.

Phase 2 is anticipated to last six months. During this time westbound traffic will be shut down to allow for eastbound traffic to continue as not to inhibit the response times of the fire department and EMS. Construction crews will fix the north side of the street with enough concrete to facilitate both east and west travel during the final two phases of the project.

The final two phases are expected to last two months each. Phase 3 will see east and west travel return on the north side of Bailey Ranch Road while the pavement on the south side of the street is repaired. The final phase will bring improvements to Champions Drive as the project wraps up.

Once completed, improvements to the road surface, as well as the addition of turn lanes, should make for a more pleasant experience for pedestrians and drivers alike for decades to come.