Work is underway on a $3 million streetscape beautification project in downtown Monmouth, beginning with the northeast quadrant of the public square.
“That’s the same quadrant that city hall is on, so literally, construction is just outside our windows here,” said City Administrator Lew Steinbrecher.
The project is funded by a Rebuild Illinois grant and will improve the aesthetics and functionality of the square, as well as add more parking and make it more pedestrian friendly.
The design includes new landscaping, planted medians, benches, pedestrian lamps, rain gardens, and narrowing traffic to one lane.
Steinbrecher said work was somewhat delayed while waiting for Ameren to remove streetlights around the square, but that happened this week.
“So that’s going to help the contractor, Porter Brothers, to really start moving along,” he said. “I would expect things to start moving pretty quickly.”
Work will be completed on quadrants one at a time, as work is also done on the 100 blocks of Broadway and Main going into the square.
As the first quadrant nears completion in the coming weeks, Steinbrecher said people will begin to see the design.
“You’ll start seeing the landscaped medians. You’ll begin to start to picture the diagonal parking that will be along the streets,” he said. “Those things will start to take form. They’ll start taking shape as they complete the northeast quadrant.”
Steinbrecher said the goal is to have the entire project complete before winter sets in, but some landscaping and concrete work may have to wait for spring.
In addition to the work on the public square, construction on a new parking lot on South First Street behind Market Alley should wrap up by the end of the week.
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