EVANSVILLE, In. (WEHT)- An Evansville city project continues to make headway. The Walnut Street Improvement Project has been going on for years now. When finished, it will stretch from downtown to Vann Avenue.
Officials who want to assure the public that the crews and construction project is right on schedule. Evansville City Engineer, Michael Labitzke, tells us this is about a $14 million dollar project that is taking 2 construction seasons to complete. He says, “at the end of this week, Vann Avenue will be re-opened for north and southbound traffic. At that point, the contractor will move over to Weinbach and close the intersection of Walnut and Weinbach for 30 days to completely rebuild that intersection”.
The entirety of Vann to Weinbach will be repaved, then will re-open to traffic.
The goal, Labitzke says, is to provide a multiuse path on the north side of the road. He says this is a request from the citizens of Evansville. Labitzke explains, “it’ll be a complete street, which is something we are seeking to build more of in Evansville, so that regardless of how you are choosing to get around, you can do so safely”.
Once the path is complete, the nearly 3 and a half mile stretch will extend from the Stone Family Medical Campus to the State Hospital, which will connect, via the overpass, to Roberts Park. He says, “It’s all about connectivity. We are trying to continue to respond to people telling us what they want”.
Despite the frustration that can follow the announcement of construction projects, Cody Staffelbach, from D-Patrick Ford, wants to remind the community that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. He explains, “even though it can be frustrating, I think the community needs to remember that when you see construction projects like this…it means our community is growing. anytime you can have a project like this where it makes Evansville more walkable, more joggable, more bikeable, that’s a good thing”.
The city expects this multi-use path to be finished in about 2 and a half years.
