HERMISTON — Hermiston’s northeast edge is getting more shovel-ready every day as the city finishes a paving project on East Theater Lane.

The previously graveled section of road between Northeast Eighth Street and Northeast 10th Street will reopen as a fully paved road within a few days, according to a news release, after crews finish striping the road.

The road project joins water and sewer projects the city has completed in recent months to attract new housing to that section of town by reducing development costs.

Paving the road’s lanes of travel was funded through money the city receives through franchise fees and the state gas tax. The developer of the nearby Cimmaron Terrace housing development, which is currently under construction, paid for wider asphalt and sidewalks on the south side of the road.

Mayor David Droztmann said in a statement that public investment stimulates private investment to help Hermiston grow in a sustainable way.

“Housing development has been a top goal of the city council for many years, and the combination of this road, the new water tower, and the future school is the foundation of a great Hermiston neighborhood,” he said.

In addition to benefiting housing developers, the road project will be helpful when Hermiston School District builds a new elementary school along that stretch of Theater Lane. The new school is in the design phase after voters approved a school bond in November 2019.

The road is 25 miles per hour for now, but will be a school zone once the school is completed.

The school district partnered with the city and Cimmaron Terrace to extend sewer services along Theater Lane while the paving work was going on. That sewer project pairs with a water project the city recently completed in partnership with Umatilla County, including a new water tower on the corner of Northeast 10th Street and Punkin Center.

“By coordinating the School District with Cimmaron Terrace, we were able to save both significant costs by allowing them to install necessary sewer in Theater ahead of our paving,” Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan said in a statement. “This now means that we have all urban-level utilities almost a half-mile further out into our Urban Growth Area, which will make housing development substantially more affordable in the future.”

To see the status of more projects in the city’s capital improvement plan, visit www.hermistonprojects.com.