The Normal Town Council on Monday approved a contract bid for improvements at the congested intersection of College Avenue and Landmark Drive.
Rowe Construction, of Bloomington, was awarded a contract for about $2.7 million to install new traffic signals with improved pedestrian accommodations at the intersection. Crews also will widen College Avenue to allow for a second westbound turn lane onto Mall Drive that is opposite Landmark.
“We're hoping it'll have a very positive effect. In addition to the turn lane, which will almost double storage capacity on College Avenue, we’ll also increase the storage capacity for the southbound left,” said Ryan Otto, the town's engineering and public works director.
Motorists driving through the area and businesses in the area frequently complain, mostly because of traffic beyond street capacity during peak hours. Traffic reaches Veterans Parkway in severe instances.
The grass median on Mall Drive will be removed to increase capacity for vehicles turning east onto Plaza Drive that leads to Chick-Fil-A, Chipotle and the Blaze Pizza establishments. It currently contains a street light, but that will be moved.
“It will not add a through lane, but it will add additional storage,” said Otto. “Right now, the turn lane provides storage for vehicles turning left onto Plaza Drive to go into that area of businesses, and so it'll just provide roughly about 90 feet of additional storage, which is say, four cars.”
The vote to award the contract was unanimous. Rowe Construction was chosen over the William Charles Construction Company, of Rockford. That bid also was found to be acceptable, but was slightly higher at about $2.8 million.
In other business
Also Monday, an amendment to Normal’s agreement with the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT] regarding the Gregory Street Constitution Trail extension was approved. The amendment provides an additional $146,076 in state funding for the project to address increased construction costs since the first draft of the project in 2021.
Landscaping and other incidentals are still needed to complete the project.
The council also authorized a five-year contract with PepsiCo to become the exclusive beverage provider at certain town facilities.
The contract provides stability for pricing and $45,000 in sponsorship revenue over the course of the contract. Pepsi is already the exclusive beverage provider at Maxwell Park/Champion Fields, Karraker and Anderson Aquatic Center, Ironwood Golf Course, Normal Theater and Connie Link Amphitheatre.
And, the town authorized a two-year contract with Gulliford Services to provide portable toilets and hand-washing units for outdoor events.
The $68,770 contract will provide restroom facilities to numerous park areas, Ironwood Golf Course and areas along Constitution Trail.
