On Thursday, September 5, 2013, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., a Public Open House will be held at Champaign Fire Station No. 6, 3911 West Windsor Road, for the Windsor Road/Interstate 57 Bridge Approaches Complete Street Project. Visitors to the Open House will be able to view final design exhibits of the proposed improvements for the Windsor Road bridge approaches leading up to the new bridge currently under construction by IDOT. City staff and consultant representatives will be available throughout the Open House to answer questions about the planned improvements. Exhibits will show the proposed complete street features for Windsor Road that will match into IDOT’s new bridge. The project will have two traffic lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks on both sides of the roadway. New LED street lights will be installed along the north side of the approaches on each side of the bridge. The cast-in-place concrete retaining walls will have colored concrete and an architectural pattern of stacked limestone that mimics the concrete color and architectural walls at the Curtis Road and Interstate 57 interchange.
The project will be bid this winter and construction is expected to begin in April 2014. The project will require Windsor Road to be closed to all traffic, between Briar Hill Drive and Fields South Drive, for several months during construction. However, the contract will specify that Windsor Road will need to be reopened to traffic before the start of school in August 2014. Final project completion will occur by October 2014.
The Windsor Road/I57 Bridge Approaches Complete Street Project is being funded in part with a grant from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP). ITEP is a federally funded, competitive program that encourages transportation related enhancement projects in a variety of categories. The program is designed to promote and develop alternative transportation options, including bike and pedestrian travel, along with streetscape beautification. The City of Champaign’s Windsor Road Complete Street Project was one of 54 projects awarded an ITEP grant for the 2013 ITEP funding cycle. The full amount of the City’s grant award is $1,740,800.