Huntingburg delays Fourth Street paving decision amid budget concerns

The price tag for Fourth Street still was not settled when Huntingburg’s Board of Public Works and Safety met at City Hall, and that kept the city from locking in a final paving decision. Merchants, the project engineer and members of the public pressed their case as officials weighed how much work downtown needs, who will pay for it and how to avoid adding disruption to a corridor that businesses rely on every day.

The board delayed the final decision for about a month, leaving Fourth Street under consideration but not yet approved for construction. City leaders have already asked VS Engineering to develop multiple repair alternatives with full cost estimates before any contract is awarded, a step that puts budget pressure at the center of the debate. Earlier discussions included concrete and asphalt options, along with repairs aimed at the settling problems that have affected the street surface.

The issue carries immediate stakes for downtown Huntingburg, where Fourth Street is described by the city as a restored Victorian business district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. City tourism materials say the corridor is home to more than two dozen locally owned antique, specialty and dining businesses, which means any paving choice will affect traffic flow, parking, walkability and customer access as much as it affects the look of the street.

Safety concerns have sharpened the discussion. Chad Brian of Grind Coffee and Tea told the board that he had taken “a pretty bad fall” after tripping on a loose paver while walking between businesses. That complaint turned the condition of the brick pavers into more than a maintenance issue, putting pressure on city officials to balance preservation against liability, accessibility and the daily realities of a busy downtown block.

The project has been building for months. On April 2, the Board of Public Works and Safety publicly streamed a meeting in which it directed VS Engineering to refine options for Fourth Street, and the city’s document center includes a file titled “4th Street Roadway Adaptations - VS Engineering Document” dated that same day. The board met again on May 7, showing the discussion remained active as officials compared cost, design and downtown impacts before deciding how far to go and when to start.