Lebanon’s Main Street is now completely reopened after months of construction that included new sewers, pavement and sidewalks.
Crews removed the final barricades Monday, opening Main Street along the project’s path from Ind. 39 westward to Patterson Street.
Work began in the spring, and city blocks opened in phases as work moved westward.
Water mains, street beds, sidewalks, light posts and landscaping were replaced around three sides of the Boone County Courthouse Square in the summer of 2018, and phase two of the downtown infrastructure and beautification project connects Main Street to the Big 4 Trail at Patterson Street, west of downtown.
While the street is open, White Construction Inc. crews are finishing decorative touches, fencing, pavement stripes, and more. Trees can’t be planted until October, Lebanon City Engineer Kevin Krulik said.
The entire route received a facelift with new sidewalks and landscaping, planters, decorative pavers and medallions, and new signs and street lights. Temporary signs are in place now while the city awaits custom signs, Krulik said.
Outdoor furniture such as tables with umbrellas, benches, decorative trash cans and bicycle racks were also part of the project and will be extended to another downtown project announced this week.
City leaders said the tables were meant to encourage people to linger downtown, and people are usually seated at the tables on warm days, alone or in groups, working on laptop computers, eating lunch, or attending outdoor meetings.
The Ind. 39 side of the square received no updates during the project, except directly around the courthouse, because it’s a highway and belongs to the state, Krulik said.
But the city received a permit two weeks ago, after months of waiting, to replace sidewalks on the west side of Ind. 39 and to mill and replace about 1 ½” of pavement from the north side of Washington Street to the south side of Main Street.
Ind. 39 will not be entirely dug up, as were other streets in the project, because the infrastructure beneath is newer, and the project should not be as disruptive as the others, Krulik said.
The state permit includes permission to replace aging sections of storm sewer found in disrepair during the earlier work.
That work will begin this weekend at the intersection of Ind. 39 and Washington Streets and require for Washington Street to be closed from Ind. 39 west, stopping just before the nearest alleys.
Access to the Boone County Prosecutor’s office and Arni’s will remain open during about a week of the work, Krulik said.
Sidewalk demolition and replacement will begin in mid-October and take White Construction about six weeks to complete, Krulik said.
Engineers will replace sidewalks with gravel walks until new concrete ones are poured in phases in order to maintain access to businesses, Krulik said.
Parallel parking spots will be closed on the west side of Ind. 39 during sidewalk and asphalt phases of the project to make room for construction equipment and improve worker safety.
Ind. 39 will not be closed during asphalt work but will be restricted to one lane with flaggers directing traffic, Krulik said, adding that paving will probably last no more than three days and likely start after Thanksgiving.
Landscaping and finishing touches, including blue paving stones, will coordinate with work done around the square and on Main Street.
“It won’t look like an afterthought,” Krulik said.
But there will be variations because of state requirements, such as planters instead of planting beds, because the street is a little wider and the sidewalk narrower there. The plants will remain the same, though.
Coordinating benches, trash cans and bicycle racks will also be placed along the west side of Ind. 39.
Indianapolis Avenue on the city’s east side is also dug up and open only to northbound traffic. Crews have stopped sidewalk work in favor of pavement and are close to completing the first phase, the east lane, and beginning work on the west side. Traffic will then travel on the new east lane, Krulik said.
If all goes well, pavement will be complete before winter, and crews will resume sidewalk and driveway concrete work in spring, Krulik said. If weather does not cooperate, one lane of Indianapolis Avenue could remain closed through winter.
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