Town of Normal plans to complete local construction in October

Photo provided by the Town of Normal

NORMAL, Ill. – This fall, the town of Normal has seen construction become increasingly more common around major streets such as College and Vernon Avenue. As construction takes over the streets of Normal, drivers are forced to discover alternate routes.

These main road projects are tackling resurfacing and pavement repairs and the town is aware of these obstacles to citizens. Normal Director of Engineering and Public Works Ryan Otto spoke on how this affects drivers.

He said, “Unfortunately, these construction processes involve lane closures.”

The East College Avenue project is resurfacing East College Avenue from Blair Drive to Young Drive. It is a multi-month project with a little over two million dollars invested. The Town aims to have the project completed by mid-October.

The Town of Normal updates drivers and community members about the new or finished projects. It works closely with the town’s communications team and the contractor to get the latest information out to the public.

He shares updates through press releases, social media and other standard communication avenues. Web maps show the various stages of road closures on the town’s website.

Weather, like unexpected showers, makes construction projects challenging. This can result in changes to completion dates and postponing work until the conditions have cleared.

Otto spoke on how he believes the town is adjusting to these sudden and constant changes around roads, including lane closures and route changes.

“Drivers have adapted to know that construction on various roads. We always ask that they find alternative routes if possible,” said Otto. “The longer that construction is going on, the more people have time to explore different routes, especially on East College.”

October is typically the end of construction season and paving, however, utility work may continue through the winter. He elaborated on the town’s expectations for the completion of these projects, comparing them to usual projects.

“Most road projects will wrap up by the end of October,” said Otto. “A majority of the projects will be completed by the end of October, early November.”