Washington City Engineer Dennis Carr told the city council on Monday that the Freedom Parkway extension will open to traffic Oct. 15.
To get motorists ready for the opening, the new traffic signals at North Cummings Lane and Freedom Parkway will flash yellow on North Cummings Lane and red on Freedom Parkway starting Thursday, although Freedom Parkway will not be open yet.
Freedom Parkway will open to traffic following a 10 a.m. city ribbon-cutting celebration Oct. 15.
Message boards on North Cummings Lane will inform motorists of the changes starting Thursday and remain up until Oct. 22.
The Freedom Parkway extension is a $6.6 million project, funded by a $2.1 million federal grant and the city.
When the extension opens, Freedom Parkway will extend from McCluggage Road on the east end to North Cummings Lane on the west end. Improved traffic flow and economic development opportunities were the reasons for the project.
The first part of Freedom Parkway opened in 2005 in conjunction with the construction of the Walmart Supercenter at 1980 Freedom Parkway.
City will help pay for traffic signal improvements in road project corridor
In addition to resurfacing troubled Illinois Route 8 and U.S. Business 24 in Washington later this year, the Illinois Department of Transportation plans to modernize traffic signals and make Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades in the project corridor.
IDOT asked the city to provide 10% of the funding for the traffic signal work, as it has done with similar projects in the past. The council Monday unanimously approved spending no more than $17,625 for the work.
Council member John Blundy asked before the vote if the city could delay approval of the cost-sharing agreement as an incentive for IDOT to speed the bidding of the project.
Carr said that's not the way IDOT operates. "If we don't share this funding, the project won't go out for bids," he said.
"We can't hold the state hostage for $17,000," said council member Mike Brownfield.
'All hands on deck' for Catherine Street brick installation
In his regular report Monday to the council, Carr said contractor Stark Excavating is "all hands on deck working to complete the first block of Catherine Street so bricks can be installed on the road before temperatures drop."
Carr also said:
- A motorist drove through the Nofsinger Road realignment project from U.S. Business Route 24 and damaged nearly 200 feet of new concrete that will need to be torn out and replaced.
- The city has taken ownership and maintenance responsibilities for Stephanie Court and Debates Street as part of a project in the Trails End subdivision.
