City of Mt. Vernon to hold ribbon cutting for opening of South 44th St. at Mateer Dr.
MOUNT VERNON, Ill. (KFVS) - The city is inviting the public to a ribbon cutting celebrating the opening of South 44th Street and Mateer Drive.
The ribbon cutting will be Friday, December 9 at 3 p.m.
According to a release from the city, engineering for this project began in 2019, with the construction of the first phase of this project being awarded to Shores Builders in fall 2021. Construction began in May 2022.
In addition to road construction, the city said water and sewer utilities were installed.
“The Council and I have been focused on infrastructure and traffic flow improvement,” Mayor John Lewis said in the release. “South 44th Street from Route 15 to this new construction was done in 2019 as well as North 44th Street improvements. We are excited to open this section of the road to eliminate the South 44th Street dead end. The estimated cost of the whole project is about $5.6 million with this first phase coming in at $1.8 million. It’s exciting to be able to see this improvement and know that it will also help with some of the traffic congestion at 42nd and Broadway and we’re looking forward to completing the second phase.”
The city said this is the first phase of a larger project to finish construction of the South 44th Street to Heritage Drive, and to improve Mateer Drive, Ilberry Street and Heritage Road from 44th Street to 42nd Street.
Engineering for the second and final phase is finished and waiting for final funding so they can get bids for construction.
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