By Mark Wineka
mwineka@salisburypost.com
Plans for making the 100 block of East Fisher Street a two-way route are still on go.
Crews for Duke Energy will begin work Monday installing a new mast-arm pole at the corner of South Main and West Fisher streets (on the Wachovia Bank side).
The mast arm will hold the traffic signals for cars traveling westbound on East Fisher Street as they come to the Main Street intersection.
For years, vehicles have only been able to travel one way ó eastbound ó on the recently refurbished 100 block of East Fisher Street.
Making the street two-way for traffic was always supposed to be one of the byproducts of the city’s $750,000 worth of streetscape improvements in that area.
To make up for the anticipated loss of some on-street parking spaces with two-way traffic, the city built a new parking lot at the corner of East Fisher and South Lee streets.
Other improvements in the project included brick pavers for the street and sidewalks, lighting, street trees, banners, curbs and driveway entrances, refurbished parking and walls behind the Thread Shed and repair of old infrastructure under the street.
The project came in $118,000 over budget.
Wendy Brindle, traffic engineer for the city of Salisbury, said the work installing the new traffic signal pole could last from two weeks to a month, depending on what problems the crews confront.
Numerous underground utilities could be affected. The base of the new pole will be 9 feet into the ground.
Much of the work will be done at night, from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Brindle said there could be sounds of jack hammers at night as workers remove the base of an old pole.
New concrete will be poured during the day.
Eastbound traffic arriving at the intersection from West Fisher Street will have a stop sign, not a traffic light, during the installation of the new pole.
Temporary lines may have to be strung to keep the South Main Street signals in operation, Brindle said.
The work will lead to the temporary loss of about four parking spaces on South Main Street and about a half block’s worth of spaces on West Fisher Street.
Brindle doesn’t yet have a date for when the 100 block of East Fisher Street will become two-way. Since the street’s surface is now brick, there’s discussion as to whether any lines should mark the new surface.