Kirkwood construction honored

After months of construction in the heart of Bloomington, the payoffs and achievements are being recognized not only by the businesses and citizens, but by other parts of Indiana as well.\nBloomington's downtown community, the City of Bloomington and Weddle Brothers Construction were named joint recipients of the "Downtown Public Improvement Award," during the 14th Annual Indiana Main Street Conference Sept. 28 in Indianapolis. Bloomington's application stood out because of the strong partnership existing between many different groups during the construction, Michaela Kendall, Indiana Main Street representative, said.\n"There's been a great deal of cooperation and dedication from the community and store owners," Kendall said. "They put many efforts forth, from regular meetings to simply putting signs up to let people know which businesses were open."\nFor more than a decade, Bloomington has been a member of Indiana Main Street, a program which helps communities revitalize downtown areas. Indiana Main Street includes 160 participating towns, making the program the largest of its kind in the country. \nThere has been a combined effort from volunteers to store-owners to the construction company, said Talisha Coppock, executive director of Bloomington Downtown.\n"We've appreciated everyone's support during a very tough summer," Coppock said. "This award is recognition by our peers in the state of Indiana and is a like a big pat on the back for all our work."\nMany parties have worked together over the past months, including the City of Bloomington, the Commission for Bloomington Downtown, Bloomington Chamber of Commerce, IU, several contractors, churches, merchants and property owners. Brochures were distributed throughout the community to educate people about the construction and a Web site was even designed so people could view the progress being made. Special events and advertising were promoted in order to help encourage citizens to continue visiting local shops, and the public was able to attend meetings every two weeks that informed them of the progress that was being made.\n"The achievements of the downtown Bloomington community and the other Downtown Revitalization Awards winners are great examples for all Indiana communities interested in reviving their downtowns," said Jayne Stites, director of Indiana Main Street. "These successes prove that through hardwork and partnerships, ideas can become realities."\nIn order to repair a 100-year-old Jordan River culvert, which was in danger of collapsing, the Kirkwood project, nicknamed "Big Dig 2000," closed traffic for more than two months on Kirkwood Avenue between Grant and Dunn streets. Construction was scheduled so that the largest parts of construction would avoid the fall semester.\n"The award is more of a public outreach and congratulations for cooperation," Bloomington Utilities Engineer Jonathan Heald said. "It's really an honor to be recognized for the work that's been done."\nWhile the entire project is about three weeks behind, there is still confidence that the initial goal to re-open the streets Oct. 16 will occur, Heald said. By then, all the underground construction, streets and sidewalks will be finished and only the "final touches" on parks, streetscape and electrical work will remain.