Anyone driving down West College over the past few months has probably noticed some construction equipment placed around the front entrance of the Jacksonville Public Library.
WLDS/WEAI News reached out to Library Director Chris Ashmore this week, who informed us the front entry steps to the library are to be repaired.
Ashmore says the steps have been in bad shape for a few years. Ashmore notes that a new HVAC system and roof repairs have recently been taken care of at the library, so now is the time to tackle the next project.
“It is just going to make it look much nice. It should look just like it did when the building was built. It will be cleaned, the cracks will be fixed and the foundation will be reset.”
Ashmore says temporary repairs were made to the stairs around five years ago, which allowed a portion of the front entrance to remain open.
“The middle section is completely open for people to use. We removed stones from the left and right side. I think they did that a couple months ago when we first started investigating what needed to be done. There was no point in putting the stones back since they will be removed again when the project starts.”
The west side entry is also available to the public.
Ashmore says the steps were examined this week during a pre-bid committee meeting. Ashmore plans to have a bid opening next month and a contract signed in April.
Ashmore says the project is estimated to cost $80,000, which will come out the library’s building fund.
The steps should be completely repaired by the end of the summer.