The City of Rockford is proud to announce the reopening of Whitman Street on Monday, October 27 at noon. This major project completely reconstructed Whitman/School Street from Avon Street to Church Street. The road will reopen to traffic, with only minor finishing work and short-term lane closures remaining.
To date, this has been the largest project funded by the City’s 1% Infrastructure Sales Tax. Beyond rebuilding one of the City’s most deteriorated roadways, the project includes several significant upgrades and community enhancements:
- Conversion from four lanes to three for traffic calming and safety
- A new, separated 5-foot sidewalk on the north side
- Extension of the Mel B. Anderson Recreational Path from Talcott-Page Park to Church Street, with future plans to connect to the Rock River Recreational Path via the Activate Church & Main project
- A single-lane roundabout at Whitman Street and Ridge Avenue, improving safety and access
- Sanitary sewer, water main, and storm sewer upgrades
- Lead service pipe replacements
- Landscaping and gateway features at the neighborhood entrance
- Improved sight distance and safety west of Ridge Avenue by reducing sharp curves
- Upgraded railroad crossings and surface improvements
- Blight reduction through the removal of a dilapidated property at Ridge and Whitman
At a construction cost of nearly $10 million, the project was managed and inspected in-house by City staff and delivered on time and on budget over the course of two years.
The City extends its sincere appreciation to our Public Works staff, partners at FRSA and the Rockford Park District, design consultant IMEG, water engineer Fehr Graham and contractor NTRAK for their exceptional work and collaboration.