by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
The first four blocks of Main Street will soon shed the road graders, jackhammers and orange cones that have become a common sight to commuters using downtown’s primary north/south corridor.
Originally scheduled for a late 2003 completion, a spokesperson for the Better Jacksonville Plan project said work would finish later this month. Sherry Hall said contractors were installing brick crosswalks and adding final layers of asphalt to complete the $4 million project.
Deteriorating utility lines pushed back the project’s finish several times and tripled its budget. The most recent deadline was set for last month, but Hall said the crumbling infrastructure discovered under the street slowed down work.
“The contractors are taking a little longer than we thought, but we’re very close to substantial completion; probably later this month.”
The Main Street project seeks to renovate the City’s primary northern gateway. The project repaved streets and sidewalks and replaced a tangle of above-ground power lines with palm trees and historic lighting.
The work the City is wrapping up is the first phase of a 12-block project. The City originally estimated the project’s total cost at $4 million. However, once contractors opened the street, the City discovered a much more involved project.
Disintegrating utility lines had to be replaced instead of moved and the City soon realized the $4 million would pay only for the first four-block phase. The City is searching for funds to renovate the remaining eight blocks. The cost is estimated at about $8 million. Mayor John Peyton sought help in February from U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, who said money might be found in a federal transportation appropriation bill.
Peyton has said work on the project’s remainder will wait until after the Super Bowl.