Lusk residents received a sneak peek at Phase Three of the Town of Lusk’s Street and Utility Improvement Project during a Wednesday, April 10 Neighborhood Neeting.

Phase Three of the project will take place on Main Street and should commence sometime in the Fall. Bids for the job will be taken in the Spring. The work will entail laying approximately 4600 feet of water mane and 4000 feet of sewer mane. The project will also involve some asphalt patching, landscaping, and sidewalk work. According to Dave Baumann, the Senior Engineer on the project, the endeavor will have its share of difficulties. Business on Main Street, however, should not be disrupted by activity related to the project.

“It will be challenging working in the alleys behind Main Street,” Baumann told the Herald. “There’s a lot of existing utilities. There is varied electric and varied gas. There’s overhead electric. You got to keep business access open for business. The Main Street businesses should still be open. We’ll try not to do the work during the peak tourist season. The idea is to work with the business owners for patron entry and egress and deliveries.”

Phase One of the project took place from 2021 to 2023 and involved eight million dollars’ worth of water and sewer improvements west of Main Street. Phase Two, which is ongoing, entails replacing approximately 1300 feet of sanitary sewer and 6300 feet of water mane on the east side of Main Street for five blocks. The goals of the project are to enhance the town’s infrastructure by updating old underground utilities and improving street sidewalk accessibility. The project also seeks to better accommodate pedestrians and Lusk residents with disabilities. According to Baumann, Neighborhood Meeting attendees expressed very few concerns.

“Concerns were access to driveways and how much sidewalk was going to be removed,” said Baumann. “Those concerns were addressed.”

Currently, funding for the project comes from a variety of sources, including some federal money. Scheduling of future phases will be contingent on the availability of funding.