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How soon will sidewalk project get restarted
Posted: 11.29.2012 at 4:01 PM
Jim Whitfield

Jim Whitfield is a News Reporter for KHQA.

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Two level sidewalk in front of the Main Street Wine Stoppe in Hannibal, Mo.  / Jim Whitfield/KHQA Reporter
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HANNIBAL, MO. -- It's a plan that was discussed for months and needed final approval at the state level.

It's the North Main Street sidewalk project in Hannibal.

Work on the four block project began back in early September.

So far one entire block has been completed and work was beginning on the 300 block of North Main Street. But as crews began work in that area some downtown business owners expressed concern over the project.

Paul Lewellen has run the Main Street Wine Stoppe for the last four years and he was looking forward to the new sidewalks that were going to be installed in front of his business. He liked what he saw in the 400 block of North Main when those sidewalks were completed and when crews got to in front of his business the sidewalks were of a different design.

"We've got four blocks here. The 400 block is finished you can see there they've put the streetlights back up and it looks great. They they came down to the third block, 300 block and we've got this two level sidewalk and we're just kind of wondering what's going on. We didn't see that in the plans or know anything about that in the plans and we're worried about liability if somebody falls," Lewellen said.

The money for the $828,000 project to redo the sidewalks and lay a new asphalt street was a combination of federal, state and local funds. Since it is new construction, ADA guidelines were in the plans. Also the east side of Main Street is a bit lower then the west side and that means you can't have an angled street when the project was completed. Everything must be horizontally and vertically even. That's a challenge when you're dealing with a downtown area that's over 150-years-old.

"The ADA requirements are very strict, with angles, approaches and ramps, slopes and all that has to be met and it has to be met in a way that retrofits 150 plus year old downtown. In addition to that, we're going to be doing a new street and of course a new street has to be flat or relatively flat and drain water," Hannibal City Manager Jeff LaGarce said.

The city said when the design for the project was underway, you could almost think of it being a three dimensional project. Something that involved more then just 90 degree corners and no slopes or degrees of elevation.

And so city officials hope the meeting on Monday will produce a consensus that everyone can live with and let the project continue to move forward.

The meeting between the downtown business owners, the city, the architect and MoDOT will be held on Monday, December 3rd at 5:30 p.m.at Hannibal City Hall.

The meeting is open to the public.

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