Livingston Downtown To Undergo Multiple Construction Projects In January

Livingston is expecting a major increase in construction projects throughout the city’s downtown at the start of the new year.

The city council heard a report on the various projects planned as a part of the city’s downtown revitalization effort during their Monday meeting. Mayor Curtis Hayes said the city decided to refrain from beginning any of the major projects until January 1 due to the volume of projects and their expected effect on the town.

“This is something that we have talked about now for the last probably 18 to 24 months,” Hayes said. “But it’s just now starting to come to fruition and they’re all coming together at the same time, so we thought that since the holiday season we didn’t want to interrupt any shopping.”

Hayes said there could be lane closures around the city square and throughout South Church Street due to the construction. Hayes said there will be a public town hall meeting held for people with questions about how the construction will affect their businesses and homes.

Alderman Bruce Elder said one of his constituents already received a complaint from a customer about the state of the roads in the area.

“The goal is to get all this work done, then we’ll pave it,” Hayes said. “It was on the paving list, but it just didn’t make sense to spend $60,000 to pave South Church Street and then dig it up and then spend $60,000 again, so it got pulled.”

Projects that will start after the holidays include the usage of a sidewalk grant, a multimodal access grant, and a grant from the transportation alternatives program.