If you’ve driven past the corner of University and Race lately, perhaps to swing by Lil’ Porgy’s or visit the Station Theatre, you might have noticed the ongoing work being done to beautify the Boneyard Creek area. For those not familiar with the project, the end result is expected to resemble the park-ish little area at University and Second, just south of Re-Store and Dallas & Co. Walkways, bubbling brooks—that sort of thing.
If you’re curious about how the project is coming along (and just how much longer this will take), I can tell you the following, based largely on a report from Brad Bennett, the Senior Civil Engineer for the City of Urbana:
- Work completed in November included construction of the west end of the retaining wall bordering the south side of City Parking Lot 25; the concrete faced wall southeast of the Norfolk Southern railroad culvert; the remaining brick band on Race Street; Race Street resurfacing south of Griggs Street; electric conduit installation; and manhole adjustments along Broadway Avenue.
- Work began on the wall east of the Griggs Street culvert; the wall bordering the west parking lot of the building at 221 Broadway Avenue; and the south creek channel edge west of the Race Street Bridge.
- In addition, the end spans of the trestle pedestrian bridge were reset; parking meter posts and stop signs were set along Broadway Avenue; and the new traffic signal equipment was installed at the University Avenue and Race Street intersection.
Due to cold weather forecast for December, project work is expected to slow considerably. Weather permitting, work in December will include construction of the new wood deck for the trestle pedestrian bridge; setting of the stone markers on the Broadway Avenue culvert; shaping the south side of the creek channel; and concrete work on the site walls southwest of the Norfolk Southern railroad culvert, northeast of the Griggs Street culvert and bordering the west parking lot of the building at 221 Broadway Avenue. A temporary aggregate sidewalk surface was installed on the west side of Race Street to provide pedestrian access along Race Street over the winter.
For those who might be interested, you can follow construction progress here and the project’s Flickr photo album here.