CENTER, Texas (December 11, 2014) – The City of Center is pleased to announce that the reconstruction of MLK drive is complete and open to all traffic. The City and the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will be holding a ribbon cutting on Tuesday, December 16, at 11:30 am at intersection of Greer

and MLK Streets by Hicks Mortuary.

 

“MLK Drive is one of the highest traffic streets in the entire City,” explained Center Mayor David Chadwick. “The street is very important in that it connects Shelbyville Street and the Loop and provides access to homes, businesses and other parts of the City.”

 

The need to reconstruct MLK Drive became obvious following Hurricane Ike in 2008, where portions of the street failed, principally being undermined by the extreme rain and storm runoff. “The street began deteriorating rapidly since then due to significant failure of drainage structures,” described Center City

Manager Chad Nehring. “It would have cost the city taxpayers millions of dollars to reconstruct the street but we were able to leverage FEMA funding administered by the State of Texas General Land Office.” The City received a $1.1 million grant to complete the work.

 

Reconstructing the street also provided an opportunity to perform other work that the community desired. “The City received a number of complaints about the rail spur crossing MLK,” Chadwick continued. “The railroad denied permission to remove the spur but eventually gave their blessing after we were persistent.”

 

Many people walk on MLK Drive and new sidewalks are planned for future expansion. “This should greatly help with pedestrian safety,” reported the Mayor. The City’s Economic Development for Street Improvements is planning a sizable contribution toward funding the sidewalk portion of the project.