CORINTH — After more than two years of planning and a handful of public meetings, dirt movers will soon descend on Church Drive.

The City Council unanimously awarded the construction contract to Mesquite-based Tiseo Paving Co. during the council’s regular meeting last week. Seven area companies bid an average of $2.6 million for the job, but Tiseo came in lowest at $2,401,110.80.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

A car moves under a canopy of trees along Church Drive in Corinth recently. The City Council awarded a contract to widen the street despite some complaints from residents about the loss of trees.

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The project has been scaled back since city officials first approved widening the thoroughfare to 41 feet in November 2006 — estimated then to cost $2.8 million.

Engineers have since proposed setting the width at 37 feet between Post Oak Drive and Interstate 35E.

Even so, about two dozen residents were upset that the widening means that between 500 and 600 trees could be cut down along the mile-long arterial. They attended the meeting to voice their concerns over the loss of canopy and the cost of the project.

“Every single person spoke against it,” Lisa Clawson said in an e-mail.

Church Drive is one of the last remaining country road-style arterials in the city of 20,000.

But other residents want the improvements, saying Church Drive is too narrow, too worn and too heavily traveled to be safe in its current state.

Scott Baird said he could understand why people would fight for trees on their own property, but the alternative — not widening the road — is unacceptable.

“I don’t think trees should ever be a block to a needed improvement to infrastructure,” Baird said. “We save what we can and even replant where we can.”

City leaders were advised two years ago that had they not started this project and several other public works projects, the money held in escrow by developers for the improvements would have had to be returned.

New water lines also will be laid during construction.

Corinth residents fought hard to save trees when improvements began on Post Oak Drive in 2000.

Then-Mayor Shirley Spellerberg said none of the trees in the road’s path were historic oaks, and the project went ahead as planned.

Construction on Church Drive is expected to be completed in about 10 months.

PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com .