Main St. is taking longer
But festival won’t be affected
News editor
Soggy weather may have extended work to revamp Marion’s Main St. past its goal date of Chingawassa Day’s weekend, but that won’t hamper celebrations, city administrator Roger Holter said Tuesday.
Workers with Bryant and Bryant Construction of Halstead will cease work for the festival and there will be no cones or detours around construction sites.
“They will clear out as much equipment as possible to allow for parking places,” Holter said.
Rain delays mean the project will “probably be down to the last block,” he said.
Workers have marked off new spaces for back up and assisting curbs to help make the planned 5-foot-wide walkways handicapped accessible.
Concrete is replacing asphalt in some areas because it lasts three times as long. Sidewalks and parking will be uniform, he said.
“It will make a better walking path for the town,” he said.
On the corners, “bulb outs” are being added to new crosswalks as a visual and physical barrier to help separate traffic and pedestrians.
“The old ones had people crossing right at the corner. If there was someone in the crosswalk they didn’t always see them,” he said.
Two-tier streetlamps are being installed at each corner, along with four tall lamps, to enhance lighting at the intersections.
Five lights are now wired and working. Teams are pulling wires underground and connecting the lamps to a box in the back of Liberty Park. There will be no overhead wiring when the project is complete, he said.
Despite the rain delays, Holter said he has been satisfied with the progress of the project so far.
“We’ve been very pleased with the crew. They’ve been very accommodating to our citizens,” he said.