MANSFIELD — The City of Mansfield is ready to seek bids for its planned $17 million Main Street Corridor Improvement Plan.
City engineer Bob Bianchi said Thursday afternoon the federal government had reviewed all of the plans related to the project, now a few years in the making. On Wednesday, it gave the city authority to offer the job to contractors.
The federal approval was needed because a portion of the funds for the project come from Washington, D.C., including a $7.3 million grant obtained in 2022 through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity competitive grant program.
Bianchi said bids will be sought beginning Monday and that contractors will have until Nov. 6 at noon to respond.
“Bids will be opened at noon and then we will know the true cost of construction,” the engineer said after a Downtown Improvement Advisory Board meeting.
Those bids will be reviewed and then Bianchi will make a contract recommendation to the city’s Board of Control. Mansfield City Council approved the bid authorization during its Aug. 7 meeting.
The engineer will also make a recommendation to the Board of Control on a contract for an engineering firm to monitor and inspect the project, which will change the Main Street corridor from First Street to Sixth Street.
Actual construction costs are estimated at $15.6 million with another $1.4 million for construction inspection, he said.
Construction is expected to begin in February with an expected completion date of October 2026.
Bianchi told council in August the project has 14 funding sources, including federal, state and local dollars. About 80 percent of the funds needed for the project are not local tax dollars, he said.
The project includes a complete upgrade from Main Street from First to Sixth streets and Park Avenue from Main to Diamond streets.
It involves replacing water mains, storm sewers, streetscape amenities, streetscape furnishings, decorative hardscape, sidewalks, curb ramps, signals, landscaping and lighting, Bianchi said.
The north and south plazas will be fully renovated, including fountain reconstruction.
He said new installations, such as mid-block pedestrian crossings, seating and decorative walls/fencing, brick crosswalks, brick hardscape, traffic control devices, irrigation, fiber, wayfinding signage and two decorative arches are included in the project.
Bianchi said road resurfacing and pavement striping will be done as Main Street is converted to two-way traffic.
The work will be done in stages to lessen the impact along the entire corridor from First Street to Sixth Street.
During the advisory board meeting, members approved the allocation of up to $45,000 to fund a Main Street Improvement Communication Program through Downtown Mansfield, Inc.
DMI CEO Jennifer Kime said her organization would select a part-time contract employee at $23 per hour for 10 to 20 hours per week during the construction process.
The person hired will share updated project information with downtown business owners, residents and visitors seeking to access parking, businesses and navigate street closures.
In addition, this contract worker would host pop-up events that will activate spaces along the Main Street corridor, release information across social media platforms and attend project meetings with merchants and other partners.
The contract employee would likely begin work in January and continue through the duration of the construction project.
