PRINCETON—Princeton’s Stellar Communities project committee reports construction will start soon on the downtown streetscape, gateway and trail improvement projects downtown.
Mayor Bob Hurst said the work involves streetscape work on all four sides of the courthouse square, on West Broadway from Hart to Hall Streets, on West State from Hart to West Street, and South Main from Broadway to Water Street.
Improvements will include new street furniture, trees, pedestrian-scale ornamental lighting, pavers, bump-outs to decrease crosswalk widths, decorative traffic signals, decorative signs and landscaping.
Downtown gateway markers will be built at the intersection of West Broadway and Hall Streets and the intersection of South Main and Water Streets. The gateway work will include signs, banner poles, lighting and landscaping, according to a news release from the committee.
Trails include a Toyota Trail along the west side of West Street from Brumfield to Broadway, which will link the Heritage Trail to the Bicentennial Plaza and theater. The work includes an urban trail, accessible ramps and trail maps and markers, benches, bike racks and trash containers.
The Tiger Trail follows the west side of North Main from Brumfield to the North Gibson school campus.
Work includes sidewalk reconstruction, accessible ramps, trail maps and markers, benches, bike racks and trash containers.
The committee expects the work to be done in phases, coordinated with the downtown facade work in progress.
Ragle Inc. of Newburgh is the contractor and Hannum Wagle Cline Engineering is responsible for construction inspection.
The $4 million project, funded 80 percent by the Indiana Department of Transportation and 20 percent local funds, should be completed by fall 2016, according to the news release.
In the news release, Hurst said he thinks the project, coupled with the other Stellar Communities, will “transform the heart of downtown Princeton for decades to come, making Princeton a great place to call home.”
Princeton’s 2012 Stellar Community designation included a plan for senior housing on Prince Street completed last fall, the Bicentennial Plaza and theater completed this spring, the streetscapes, gateway and trail projects.
The release says the $21 million in projects, targeted for quality of life infrastructure improvements, are funded by $16.5 million from state agencies, $2.1 million from the city, $1.33 million in private donations (including $1 million from Toyota) and $1.1 million of in-kind contributions and private investments.