Russellville plans downtown revitalization

By Staff
Melissa Cason
The Russellville downtown area will soon get a new look.
City officials are working to finalize contracts on the streetscape project downtown.
Mayor Troy Oliver held a meeting Wednesday with engineer Keith Strickland. The meeting was to present the plans for the two phases of the project to business owners and community members.
"This project has two phases," Strickland explained. "The first phase will focus on the intersections, and the second phase will focus on the blocks between the intersections."
Strickland said the engineering study showed that there was no need for so many traffic lights along Jackson Avenue. Many of those lights will be replaced with stop signs on the side streets. The two main intersections, at Lawrence and Madison streets, will be replaced with decorative lights that are up to current state and federal codes.
"The current stop lights are not up to state and federal standards," Strickland said. "We will be using federal money so we must adhere to Department of Transportation standards."
Another aspect of the intersection project will include tightening the intersections to calm traffic.
"We don't want wide open intersections," Strickland said. "We need to bring the street in so that motorists will use more caution in these areas."
Phase two will improve the sidewalks between the intersections. Landscaping and decorative lighting will be added to enhance the downtown area.
Landscaping ideas includes trees, shrubs and possibly hanging planters.
Strickland said one major concern about the landscaping is maintenance.
"It's important that you have someone in place to care for the landscaping because it won't do any good if it's not properly maintained," Strickland said.
Oliver said the street and fire departments will maintain the landscaping once the project is completed.
The total cost of the first phase is $360,000, and the total cost of the second phase is just over $460,000.
The project will be funded through two grants. The first grant has already been approved. The city is in the process of completing the grant process to fund the second phase.
"We have the opportunity to get the second phase completed with no match as long as we get the grant application completed," Oliver said. "If we don't get the grant in very quickly, the city could have to pay a 20 percent match."
Strickland said the first phase will be advertised next week, but it will take several months to award contracts. Once the construction is underway, it will take six months to one year to complete.
The second phase is still in the planning stages, but officials hope to complete the planning within the next few weeks to ensure the 100 percent grant money.
Oliver said the city hopes the revitalization project will give building owners downtown an incentive to renovate their buildings.