HUNTINGTON -- After seven years of planning, work will soon begin on the Old Main Corridor.
Huntington officials opened contract bids Friday for the first phase of the project, which aims to provide a better link between Marshall University and the downtown on 4th Avenue through enhanced landscaping and lighting, bicycle lanes, public art and incentives for small-business owners.
The first phase will cover improvements between 8th and 10th streets. Hager Construction submitted the low bid of $997,197. Also submitting bids were C.J. Hughes Construction ($1,044,337) and Chapman Martin Excavating ($1,278,284).
The city has up to $1,050,000 in funding for the first phase, said Charles Holley, the city's director of development and planning. The funding comes from tax-increment financing proceeds, the Community Development Block Grant program and the Huntington-Ironton Empowerment Zone.
City officials will spend the next few days reviewing the bids to make sure they meet specifications. City Council then will vote on a contract. The contract proposal will appear on the agenda as the first reading of an ordinance for the council's July 28 meeting. Work could begin by late August, Holley said.
The centerpiece of the first phase is an outdoor plaza in front of the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center and another plaza directly across 4th Avenue. A mid-block crosswalk will connect the two plazas. The area, Holley said, will promote outdoor shopping and eating and pedestrian traffic.
Plans also include reducing 4th Avenue to one lane each direction with a center turn lane at intersections, Holley said. Parallel parking will remain in the two-block stretch.
Each lane will be large enough to accommodate a bicycle lane, Holley said. Bicycle lanes won't be striped, however, until the Old Main Corridor is completed. The project is slated to stretch from Hal Greer Boulevard to 6th Street.
Filling underground storage areas in front of Club Envy and the Keith-Albee will be part of the first phase as well. There is a 15 foot by 30 foot room underneath the sidewalk in front of the Keith-Albee that is filled with coal 8 feet high, Holley said.
The room was used decades ago to store coal for the Keith-Albee's coal-fired heating system, he said. When urban renewal efforts began in the downtown in the 1970s, the room was sealed off but the coal was never removed.
The construction contract will be partnered with a contract for public art between 8th and 10th streets. Byron Clercx, chairman of Marshall's Department of Art and Design, submitted the lone bid of about $67,000 for the public art contract, Holley said. Work will involve custom-made park benches, bike racks and lighted medallions embedded in the sidewalk.
The next phase of work -- 14th Street to Hal Greer Boulevard -- will begin in spring 2009, Holley said. The city already has acquired funding for the work through the CDBG program and a state transportation grant.
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