Jackson aldermen approve MoDOT boost for downtown redevelopment

The Jackson Board of Aldermen approved a plan on Monday to accept $241,681 from MoDOT.

The money will refund a portion of the $309,847 slated to for the city's uptown Historic District renovation project. The state aid comes from the Transportation Enhancement Funds Program.

"It is the first of a phased project to do some renovations," said Jim Roach, Jackson's city administrator.

High Street between Main and Adams streets will be renovated starting next fall, he said. Among the projects scheduled are replacing sidewalks and crosswalks with brick pavers and widening High Street to accommodate angled parking on the west side. Antique-style lighting will be installed, and overhead utilities will be upgraded and reinstalled underground along with a new, larger water main, Roach said.

When the work is done, that portion of High Street will become the city's only one-way street, according to Roach.

On the east side of town, Big D Electric Inc. of Eldorado, Ill., will be installing an electrical line system along the route planned for Old Orchard Road.

"It will serve as a second transmission line for the whole city as well as serve that area," said Roach. He said the $543,960 job will not result in a rate increase.

Roach said the city made the decision to skip the 2008 automatic rate increase after electric bills were raised by nearly 50 percent over several months last year.

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127