IRONTON — A myriad of theft and damage on city construction equipment and traffic signs has resulted in delays to the North Second Street repaving project.

Ironton Street Superintendent Mike Pemberton said city workers are faced daily with street signs missing, orange construction barrels thrown into Storms Creek and the traffic control device directing the one lane of traffic being tampered with.

“The theft of city property is a crime,” Pemberton said. “But tampering with a traffic device or signs can lead to a dangerous accident or even a fatality.”

Pemberton said the theft of temporary street signs has gotten so bad that he has been relegated to borrow signs from other areas of the city.

The rehabilitation project which began last month will remove the asphalt while rebuilding the plates at the Storms Creek floodgate portion of North Second Street.

The project is way overdue as the city has been forced to cope with poor drainage and maintenance problems yearly on that portion of roadway.

As part of construction, city workers were forced to merge traffic on North Second Street to one lane with temporary traffic signals and signs allowing passage. Pemberton has said waits should last no longer than 30 to 45 seconds. The traffic signals are set approximately 300 feet apart.

Once into full swing, the project is expected to last one to two weeks, barring weather delays.