The rebuild of a busy section of Emerson Avenue is set to begin later this month, but some of the work to redevelop the road has been put on hold for now.
The first phase of a $3.8 million project to rebuild and resurface a 1.5-mile stretch of Emerson Avenue from Main Street to County Line Road is set to begin by the end of the month. Crews will also add nine landscaped medians, which will replace the center turn lane for much of that section of Emerson Avenue.
Emerson Avenue will remain open to traffic, and work will be done using individual lane closures, Greenwood capital projects manager Kevin Steinmetz said.
The remaining work, which includes replacing traffic signals, decorative street lights and a trail, are on hold until the second phase of work, Steinmetz said. Officials had already decided not to do the trail during the first phase because they needed more time to figure out what land was needed. They decided to also do the stoplights and decorative lighting then as well, he said.
About 20 years have passed since that portion of Emerson Avenue was last repaved, and street workers filled numerous potholes this past winter. About 20,000 vehicles pass through the County Line Road and Emerson Avenue intersection every day.
City officials have said the road repairs and aesthetic improvements to Emerson Avenue are necessary to attract businesses to the remaining undeveloped areas along the north-south route. Three recent developments announced along Emerson Avenue include a 107-room hotel and 180-unit apartment complex along Greenwood Springs Drive, as well as a 28,000-square-foot office building nearby.
The nine grass medians, which will be planted with trees, will replace the center turn lane in places where there is nowhere to turn left. They won’t block the entrances to any of the properties along Emerson Avenue, Steinmetz said.
The first phase of the work, which was estimated at $2.3 million, came in at a cost of $1.8 million because the contractor also operates its own asphalt plant, which saves money, Steinmetz said. This week, members of the Greenwood Redevelopment Commission unanimously approved spending the money from the city’s tax-increment financing, or TIF, districts on the first phase of work.
