Go Back to Gravel Roads -
By MITCH SMITHMARCH 7, 2017
OMAHA — After living more than 40 years along a road plagued by potholes, Jo Anne Amoura
was excited to see city crews shred her block of Leavenworth Street into gravel.
“In grinding up streets and putting gravel roads in the middle of the core of your city,
that damages the reputation, that damages the image and brand of a city,” said Heath Mello, a Democrat and former state lawmaker trying to unseat Ms. Stothert this spring.
Only after the asphalt had been ripped out almost three years ago did Ms. Amoura and her neighbors learn
that their street had been “reclaimed,” Omaha City Hall’s euphemism for unpaving a road.
“I think that’s a step backwards in the infrastructure business,” said Mac Andrew, a retired public works director
in the Kansas City area who was named one of the best in his field by the American Public Works Association.
“I wouldn’t like it and neither do the residents that live on those streets,” said
Mayor Jean Stothert, a Republican who is nearing the end of her first term.
“I’d like it to be the way it was,” said Ms. Thonen, who has lived in her home for more than 30 years
and has no interest in splitting the cost of repaving with the city.
