More than $4.3 million in upgrades planned for Belleville streets. Did yours make the list?
The top seven road projects in Belleville for 2023 total about $4.3 million in construction costs, according to city records.
City Engineer Sal Elkott said his push for road improvements is inspired by a conversation he had with a friend who was considering whether to buy a west-side home about 25 years ago on Kilmar Woods Drive, which is one of the roads targeted for improvement this year.
His friend didn’t make an offer on the home because she was concerned about the poor road conditions, he said.
“That was alarming to her. That ought to tell you, roads do make a difference,” he said. “So when the rubber meets the road, I don’t really need to tell you about nuclear density of asphalt, I don’t need to tell you about compaction, I don’t need to tell you about hydraulics and hydrology. What you need to know is what is essential to your quality of life and what is essential to your quality of life is better infrastructure, so better infrastructure brings in better rooftops, better rooftops bring in better business.
“It has a direct impact on the quality of the people who live in these neighborhoods.”
The largest project in Belleville’s roadwork plan this year calls for the $1.6 million realignment of South Sixth Street near Richland Creek.
South Sixth Street will be reopened to traffic after being closed in recent years. Along with that reopening, crews will permanently close off Centreville Avenue’s connection with West Main Street.
Centreville Avenue will be linked in a new, three-street intersection with South Sixth and West Lincoln streets.
West Washington Street will remain one-way going east in this area and West Lincoln Street will remain a two-way street.
Construction on this project is expected to be finished by the end of the year, weather permitting, according to Elkott.
Sidewalk and curb improvements also will be part of this project.
To pay for this project, the city is using property tax revenue collected as part of the tax increment financing system known as the TIF 3 Fund.
Baxmeyer Construction Inc. of Waterloo is the contractor on the Sixth Street realignment.
South Sixth Street had been closed while Ameren completed a cleanup of coal tar along Richland Creek. The coal tar was a byproduct of a since-demolished factory that produced gas from coal for city street lights in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Here are 2023 highlights for seven roadwork projects in Belleville:
South Sixth Street at Centreville Avenue, West Lincoln Street & West Washington Street
Construction cost: $1,597,777.77
Scope: Realignment of South Sixth Street, resurfacing, curbs, sidewalks
Time frame: End of December, weather permitting
Contractor: Baxmeyer Construction Inc. of Waterloo
Funding: TIF 3
Mascoutah Avenue
(from near East Main Street to McKinley Avenue)
Construction cost: $699,889.49
Scope: Repave, curb repairs and some sidewalk repairs.
Time frame: May
Contractor: Christ Brothers Asphalt of Lebanon
Funding: American Rescue Plan Act
Forest Avenue
(from McKinley Street to East Monroe Street)
Construction cost: $560,936.35
Scope: Resurfacing, storm sewer repairs, curb repairs, sidewalks
Time frame: Mid-July
Contractor: Rooters Asphalt of Beckemeyer
Funding: Rebuild Illinois
Allsup Place
(from Town Hall Road to near Illinois 15)
Construction cost: $532,898.82
Scope: Repave, pavement patches, pipe underdrains subgrade repairs of roadway
Time frame: Mid-July
Contractor: Kinney Contractors Inc. of Raymond
Funding: Rebuild Illinois
East Adams Street
(from Illinois 159 to South Jackson Street)
Construction cost: $369,611.00
Scope: Resurfacing, some curb repairs
Time frame: September
Contractor: Hank’s Excavating & Landscaping Inc. of Belleville
Funding: TIF 8
Reunion Boulevard
Construction cost: $273,629.25
Scope: Resurfacing
Time frame: Completed
Contractor: Rooters Asphalt of Beckemeyer
Funding: TIF 10
Fourscore Drive & Kilmar Woods Drive
Construction cost: $263,096.40
Scope: Resurfacing, subgrade repairs of roadway, curb repairs
Time frame: Completed in May
Contractor: Kilian Corp. of Mascoutah
Funding: Rebuild Illinois
Future projects
Elkott said several projects are in the planning stages:
▪ The city plans to resurface West Main Street from 37th to 44th streets and this work is expected to be done by 2025, Elkott said.
▪ Work also is being planned for Lebanon Avenue and Susann Court near Memorial Hospital.
▪ The city has twice tried unsuccessfully to get grants to get money to extend the streetscape improvements on West Main Street from 12th to 17th streets, Elkott said, and this project remains in the city’s plans.
▪ The Belleville City Council recently approved engineering design work for improvements to South Church Street and for several downtown streets including Main, West A, First, Third and Illinois streets.
