Freedom Parkway in Washington is open. All 0.89 miles of it, 19 years after it was first envisioned.
Elected officials, city staff and project leaders were among those who gathered Tuesday on a cold morning at the intersection of Freedom Parkway and North Cummings Lane for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Freedom Parkway extension.
That's the east end of Freedom Parkway. A new intersection has been created there, and new traffic lights have been installed.
The west end of Freedom Parkway is at its busy intersection with McCluggage Road, in between Walmart Supercenter and Menards stores.
Shortly after the ribbon cutting, motorists could start using Freedom Parkway. The speed limit on the road is 40 miles per hour.
The first part of Freedom Parkway opened in 2005 in conjunction with the opening of the Walmart Supercenter, located at 1980 Freedom Parkway. Menards is at 1975 Freedom Parkway.
Work on the $6.6 million Freedom Parkway extension, which spans 0.66 miles through cornfields, began last year. That was 11 years after water and sewer lines were installed along the stretch.
The extension project was funded by $2.1 million in federal grant money obtained by Washington through the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, and $4.5 million from the city.
City Engineer Dennis Carr said he's excited to see the completion of the project and is certain Freedom Parkway will improve safety for motorists coming to and going from Walmart and Menards.
"Now they can use Freedom if they want," he said.
Jon Oliphant, Washington's planning and development director, is excited about the development opportunities on the approximately 75 acres of privately-owned land off Freedom Parkway. Multi-family residential, light industrial and commercial projects are possibilities.
"The last piece that made the land shovel-ready was getting the road built. It's been a long time coming," Oliphant said. "I'm sure we'll see interest from developers. What that is remains to be seen."
Carr said the landowners are looking forward to their property being developed.
The extension project went as smoothly as expected, Carr said.
"Building a road through cornfields is about as easy as it gets," he said.
Washington Mayor Gary Manier said he's excited to see Freedom Parkway open and proud of city council members over the years for their forward thinking on the project.
"Discussions about Freedom Parkway started 19 years ago. It was worth waiting on receiving the grant from the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission to help offset the cost, " he said.
