Repairs to Anna, West Streets to Begin Soon

By Jeremy Coumbes on September 13, 2022 at 11:19am

The Jacksonville City Council passed several measures aimed at improving city streets last night.

A number of items under utility and planning and public works were approved during the council’s regular meeting Monday night. Among those were resolutions approving a preliminary engineering services agreement with Hutchinson Engineering of Jacksonville for the South Main Street project.

The planned work will extend the downtown’s ascetics along South Main between College Avenue and the town brook and was granted nearly $3 million in DCEO Rebuild Downtown and Main Street Grant funding in August. The project is estimated to begin in 2024.

Also approved last night was the acceptance of a proposal to make the needed repairs to Anna and South West Streets. Jamie Headen with Benton and Associates says those improvements will be completed much sooner than the complete renovation of South Main Street.

The Council voted to move forward with the road and sewer repairs so hopefully that will be getting done here in the next few weeks, maybe the first half of October at the end of the construction season.”

Back in July, the city reached an agreement with Ameren Illinois to make the repairs after portions of both streets were damaged during Ameren’s remediation of a former coke gas plant from the 1800s along the town brook.

Headen says the work will include removing the approach to the bridge on West Street in order to replace a section of sewer line that runs under the street. He says all of the work is anticipated to be completed this year.

The Council also approved a pair of measures for the West State Street revitalization project, which following the South Main project, will be the last of the major Downtown Turnaround projects.

The resolutions authorize the appropriation of motor fuel tax funds for the West State Street project and gives official support to applying for Illinois Transportation Enhancement Project funding.

Previous ITEP funding allowed for the rehabilitation work on North and now South Main Streets, as well as the recent work completed on East State Street.