Abita Springs is getting ready to kick off a major street improvement project.

Barrier Construction has been awarded the $600,000 project that will see improvements made to 28 of the town’s streets.

Jean Thibodeaux, engineering consultant for the town, reported to the Board of Aldermen last week that because Barrier’s base bid of $566,892 came in below the $640,000 the town budgeted for street repairs, the town will be able to complete some of the desired alternates. This means, Thibodeaux explained, that instead of receiving three inches of asphalt, the gravel roads in town that will be paved will receive four inches of asphalt, increasing the length of time before they will need to be repaved.

With the added alternatives, the cost of the project increased to $600,242.

Mayor Louis Fitzmorris said he expected the project cost to come in low this time because of lower than average construction cost.

But, he added, Barrier’s bid was even lower than he expected. This has not been the case in the past.

The last time the town advertised a road improvement project, the bids came in higher than budgeted and the list of roads to be paved had to be scaled down.

He explained that that project was budgeted just prior to Hurricane Katrina and when the bids came back after the storm, construction cost had skyrocketed.

Fitzmorris said because of the increase in construction cost, many of the big-ticket items, which were paving gravel streets, had to be cut.

“I couldn’t surface the gravel streets but I could resurface more asphalt streets because I could stretch the money further that way,” he said.

The streets that got left off of that project were added to this project.

Included in this project are all or portions of the following streets: Level Street, Eads Street, Regina Street, John Street, St. James Street, Sixth Street, Pearl Street, Mary Street, Heintz Street, Millar Street, Gordon Street, Centerboard Street, Slope Place, Schooner Place, Packet Place, Minkler Street, Heard Street, Sanders Street, Levenson Street, St. John, 10th Street, Nightwalk Lane, Keller Street, St. Ann Street, Seventh Street, Eighth and St. James Street, Ninth Street and Dundee Street.

Crews will begin work as soon as the ink is dry on the paperwork and Barrier has secured their bonding. Once started, Fitzmorris anticipates the project to be complete in six weeks if the weather cooperates.