The loud thuds some Granville residents heard on Sunday night were construction workers placing heavy sheets of steel over a trench they’re digging in Broadway – a short bit of work before a months-long project on downtown streets.
More thuds are possible before work to install a storm sewer line under Broadway from Main Street to the crosswalk in the middle of the block between Main and Prospect streets is scheduled to wrap up on Wednesday, March 5.
“They’re installing a storm sewer that we thought was there going back to the 1940s but wasn’t there,” Village Manager Herb Koehler said. “We chose to do it at night to protect our businesses and for minimal impact on traffic.”
That work must be done before a project planned for April through November to replace downtown traffic signals and crosswalks, and install “bump-out” rain gardens at the intersections of Broadway and Main, Prospect and Pearl streets.
An open house to explain the project and answer questions will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, March 10, in the Village Council chambers in Village Hall, 141 E. Broadway.
Koehler said that downtown events, such as the annual July 4 fair and parade will be held even as the construction is happening.
“We intend to host all usual downtown events this year, but they will likely look a little different – maybe a little smaller and/or shifted to different sections of downtown,” he said, adding that they “won’t know for sure until we meet with the contractor in the next couple of weeks.”
A key feature of the $2.19 million “signalization” project funded by state and local dollars is to install “smart” signals at Broadway’s intersections with Main, Prospect and Pearl streets to reduce congestion along state Rt. 661, which runs north on Main Street from the Rt. 16 freeway, then on Broadway through downtown and north on Pearl Street toward Mount Vernon.
At times, the left turn lanes at Main and Pearl back up with traffic.
“The smart signals will recognize when traffic is backing up and give it more time to move through the intersection,” said Jenn Rubal, assistant village planner.
The new signals at Main and Pearl will be installed on fixed arms attached to poles, as opposed to hanging from cables as they do currently.
The “bump-out” planters being planned for the intersections are designed not only to soften the aesthetics downtown, but also filter stormwater through rain gardens before it flows into the sewers, she said.
Another goal of the bump-outs is to shorten the length of the crosswalks, Rubal said, which is a benefit for both motorists and pedestrians, because pedestrians will spend less time crossing the street.
And while all of that construction is going on, the current concrete-pavers in the crosswalks will be taken up and replaced with a new foundation and clay bricks, which Rubal said will reduce maintenance and create more visibility for the crosswalks.
Rubal said only one parking space will be lost in the project, and she plans to have an outline of one of the planters staged on Broadway on Monday so that those who attend the open house can visualize how the rain-garden bump-outs will look.
Alan Miller writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.