ABOVE: Work on Hazel will run from the north end of the bus transfer zone up to Madison Street.
Three-million dollars of the 106 million being granted to commercial corridors and main streets around the state is coming to Danville. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is sending $3 million Danville’s way for work on specific areas of Walnut, Harrison, and Hazel Streets.
Danville City Engineer Sam Cole says, starting with Walnut, just begin at the north end of City Hall and look north a block and a half to Harrison Street.
AUDIO: New sidewalks, new curbs, road improvements, updated lighting; we’ll be doing drainage improvements at the intersections. That corridor currently is not ADA compliant. So if you’re at all handicapped or you’re pushing a stroller; there’s really no way to walk safely down that corridor.
LEFT: Area targeted for Walnut improvements, looking north from Walnut and North Streets. RIGHT: Area targeted for Harrison improvements, looking east from Harrison and Vermilion Streets.
The work on Harrison begins at Harrison and Vermilion by the Fischer Theater, and goes east a couple blocks to Jackson.
Then, there’s Hazel, where work will begin at the north end of the bus transfer zone, and head north to Madison, stopping just south of the post office; working again on sidewalks, curb and gutter, and lighting.
AUDIO: There’s been some streetscape improvements that were done kind of to the south end previously. We’re basically going to take off from there and go north, past the Wolford, and end up at the intersection of Madison. We’re trying to make the whole area more walkable. Especially, if you live at the Wolford, or you get off the bus at the transfer zone or something; you’re trying to access businesses downtown; there’s not great walking access.
Cole says now that the money has been allocated, the city needs to begin the real planning stages.
AUDIO: We did just preliminary scoping on this. We still have to do all the design work, and the survey work and permitting and those things. So, I think we’re most likely looking at 2023 to get all of that done.
Cole says that most likely work on these projects will take place during the 2024 construction season.
