By ALEXANDER SIMONE

Staff writer

When the piles of bricks along W. Grand Ave. begin being re-layed in mid-July, history will be returning to the street.

“The primary thing is having a historic tie to the street system that was originally built in Hillsboro,” city administrator Larry Paine said. “The other part was to have a unique feature at the high school, where there would be an interesting character to the roadway.”

The original surface was from 1922, and many of the bricks removed are still usable, he said.

The city is promoting brick laying to increase interest among potential volunteers.

“Part of what we’re trying to do is gather people interested in helping out,” Paine said.

The city has received interest from individuals, youth groups, and Hillsboro High School, Paine said.

“It’s happening when we’re not in school, so it will be interesting,” school superintendant Max Heinrichs said. “We feel like we’ll get a good number of kids.”

While Hillsboro High School doesn’t track community service, helping will be treated as a civic project, Heinrichs said.

“Whenever we can find one, we try to get involved,” he said.

While historic integrity and community participation are important, safety along the street is another reason to reuse the brick, Paine said.

“People will be more inclined to drive slowly because it’ll rattle their cars around a bit,” he said. “Student safety and traffic safety are in there.”

Construction on Wilson St. also will start in early July.

To work on both streets simultaneously, the city will hire separate contractors, Paine said.