By Monica Pryts
GREENVILLE — Except for a few tiny details, phase two of downtown Greenville’s streetscape project has been completed on schedule.
“It’s 99.5 percent done,” Borough Manager Ryan T. Eggleston said Friday.
The work left to do is so minor that it’s not even noticeable, like painting the electrical boxes that control the traffic and street lights, he said.
Driving into downtown Greenville, the improved part of Main Street is a streamlined section of town that spans Mercer Street to the Main Street bridge.
The first phase was finished in 2006 and covered Main between Mercer Street and the former Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad tracks.
Phase two goes from the tracks to the bridge and most of the $1,343,864 project was covered by a state grant with the borough contributing $260,000.
The road was paved over a week ago, Eggleson said, but the smell of fresh blacktop still hangs in the air. Street closings and detours were kept to a minimum during construction, which started last summer, and the traffic seemed to flow well, he said.
The revitalization project brought new sidewalks with inlayed brickwork, brick crosswalks, benches and trash cans painted in dark green, new street lights and traffic signals and landscaping.
Phase two will be showcased during an open house celebration set for 5 to 8 p.m. June 11, sponsored by Greenville’s Women Action Group and the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce.
Similar to the phase one open house, downtown businesses will have special sales, said WAG member Becky McFadden. There will also be music, food, games and a scavenger hunt; the stores will have clues and winners will be drawn from a pool of the completed forms for prizes, she said.
The parking lot of Fox’s Pizza at Main and Water streets will feature demonstrations from local dance and karate classes, a hula hoop contest and a fitness assessment tent sponsored by UPMC Horizon, Mrs. McFadden said.
WAG and chamber members decided not to close the street to traffic because motorists have already spent enough time taking detours, she said.
The celebration was scheduled to coincide with the farmer’s market at Central Park and an open house at the Greenville Area Public Library. Shuttle buses will take people from the parking lot of Family Video to the library.
For more information, call the borough building at 724-588-4193.
