Marion’s $6.9 million streetscape project to begin this month

MARION — A decade in the making, Marion’s long-awaited Seventh Avenue streetscape project is beginning this month.

The $6.9 million Uptown project is expected to begin on July 13 in the 1200 block of Seventh Avenue and proceed west, a city news release said.

The project is being funded by local-option sales tax dollars and bonding through the city’s capital improvement program.

The project will include the reconstruction of the street and sidewalks as well as the replacement of underground utilities, sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water main on Seventh Avenue and side streets between Eighth and 12th streets and Sixth and Eighth avenues.

It also includes the addition of a new Uptown plaza on 11th Street that will stretch from the city’s Uptown Artway south across Seventh Avenue.

Work is expected to last two construction seasons.

Community Development Director Tom Treharne previously told The Gazette the most noticeable change will be on Seventh Avenue between 10th and 12th streets with its historic buildings and City Square Park.

That area will become a “festival street” with no curbs so it can be closed for events and be more walkable, Treharne said.

Renderings show the avenue also will have new parking spaces, new lighting and decorative features.

Treharne previously said construction work will be phased to retain access to businesses and the Uptown area.

“We know construction can be challenging,” said Brooke Prouty, director of the Uptown Marion District and business liaison for the project. “But we are doing everything we can to minimize disruptions to businesses and want to complete a quality project in a timely fashion.”

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