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Mayor Bill Ingold told the Paxton City Council that it looks like the long-discussed first phase of the downtown streetscape improvement project will go forward this year. Ingold said Springfield has approved everything and that bids can be let soon for the more than $1 million project. The goal is to have it completed by the mid-September Swine & Dine barbecue festival. It was hoped that the work would have been done last summer but the pandemic interfered with that.
Work this summer will involve the resurfacing of four blocks of Market Street, from Orleans to Holmes streets, and new concrete sidewalks on both sides of the 100 block of North Market Street. Also in that same block will be the installation of historic-looking, 16-foot-tall pedestrian lights. Also planned--stamped concrete paving or brick paver banding added behind the curbs there.