Concrete paving wraps up on downtown Marseilles project

Temporary traffic light may come down, be reinstalled in winter

The stoplight at the corner of Main and Commercial Streets in Marseilles.

The concrete paving for the Main and Commercial streets project in Marseilles has finished as the project moves forward.

Marseilles City Engineer Mike Etscheid said the bridge deck still needs to be completed, although construction workers have to wait for warmer weather.

“We’ve got a contractor lined up to do the bridge deck,” Etscheid said. “Half of it needs the surface taken off. We’re waiting for warmer weather due to black topping.”

The temperature has to be 45 degrees for contractors to blacktop the bridge deck.

Etscheid said if contractors can get half of this project done this year, the temporary stop light on Main Street can come down for the winter and contractors will put up the light again in the spring.

The Commercial and Main streets project started in May and was expected to run through the end of October, but new projects, such as bridge work and water main work became part of the initiative and created a need for more time.

The plan for the project was to create an S curve on the east side near Broadway Street, bringing Commercial Street north within about six feet of Ziggy’s Bar and Grill, at the corner.

Etscheid said in October this project is run by the state of Illinois, so the city doesn’t have any control over the contract.