Main Street Reconstruction Project

At last week's meeting of the Freeman City Council, the council affirmed their commitment to move forward with the reconstruction of Main Street.

Project engineer Paul Korn of Sayre Associates & Emily Hofer of the local streetscaping team made presentations to the council. Click here to see a “Before” and “After” depiction of the intended project. The two images displayed were provided by Sayre and show a recent drone photo of Freeman's Main Street near the corner of Third & Main, as well as a rendering of the anticipated street design.

Zero-grade curb extensions at two intersections along Main Street are intended to enhance safety and accessibility, while a ribbon of exposed aggregate spanning sidewalks in the business district adds aesthetic value to the overall project, as well as an additional layer of safety for those with visual limitations. The gradual curves in the design are intended to accommodate snow removal and proposed valley drainage would be a safety feature growing in popularity; it's designed to cause rain puddles, ice, and snow melt to pool at the rear tires of vehicles, rather than near the curb & vehicle doors.

Though the preliminary design may still undergo minor changes, Hofer described the streetscaping team's thoughtful and "forward looking" work. With the goal of keeping costs down, addressing snow removal, and developing a sustainable plan, the team "created a slate" that will allow for future enhancements.

The reconstruction of Freeman's Main Street will be a storefront-to-storefront project that will run from North County Road to Fifth Street. An optional part of the process will include seeking bids for the resurfacing of two blocks of Third Street and two blocks of Fourth Street - those directly to the east and directly to the west of Main Street - with blacktop. That will all take place after grant funding has been secured to assist in financing the project. More information will be forthcoming as it becomes available.