The Main Street Project recently approved by the City Council and currently under construction is Phase 2 of a four-phase project that will replace the pedestrian plaza created during the urban renewal of the early 70's. In an effort to improve the community's understanding of the project and open up additional lines of communication, the City of Dubuque, in conjunction with the Durrant Group and Dubuque365.com, has created this web page to provide information regarding the project. Through this site, you can learn about the project from specifics to current status to schedule and you can check the list of frequently asked questions or pose questions of your own. We hope that you find this site useful and continue to check back often as construction progresses over the next several months.

Before	Jan 21, Pavement removed.	May 5th - I do believe I see a ring around that clock!	July 15th - Voila!

Follow construction progress on Main Street visually through our collection of images taken periodically throughout the duration of the project. Click on the image above or choose a gallery here... Deconstruction / Construction / Celebration

The Restored Town Clock Building Cottingham & Butler/Sisco Tunnel Under Construction This photo shows the entrance that will be at the west end of the tunnel being constructed under Main Street (the former Town Clock Plaza) which will connect the Security and Town Clock Buildings, both owned by Cottingham & Butler/Sisco. Cottingham & Butler decided to construct the tunnel once they decided to renovate the historic building directly across the street from their headquarters in the Security Building. With the re-opening of the street, the tunnel became even more important to the internal functioning of the company, soon to be subdivided between the two structures. The company worked closely with City officials to guarantee that their tunnel would not interfere with the reconstruction of Main Street and ensured the design and construction of the tunnel would be safe and meet the current codes. Congratulations and thanks to Cottingham & Butler for all of their efforts to restore and save such Dubuque treasures as the Security and Town Clock Buildings.

The trench is dug and the door is cut and poured!

The tunnel is built. Now it just needs a roof...

Description of the Current Project: Main Street from Fifth to Ninth

Phase 2 of the overall project is currently underway. This phase includes only the 64-foot right-of-way of Main Street from Fifth Street to Ninth Street. The Durrant Group along with IIW Engineers & Surveyors, P.C. and Hawks Design spent most of 2001 gathering information from the City of Dubuque, Dubuque Main Street Limited, property owners, downtown employees, the general public and their own observations and expertise to arrive at the design being implemented today. Pulling themes already in place at Third and Main, City Hall, Cable Car Square and the Dubuque Museum of Art, the design team generated a combined theme that can be carried throughout downtown on future streetscape projects.

The Main Street corridor through the current pedestrian plaza is a combination of an open street and a pedestrian friendly plaza. The street itself will be narrower than the city standard to promote slower traffic movement and will be standard concrete color. The parking areas, where they occur, will have standard color curbs but red colored concrete, exactly like on Eighth Street. There will be 33 metered parking stalls in this four block section of Main Street (duration yet to be determined.) Between Eighth and Ninth, three loading zones similar to those on Eighth Street will be included along with angle parking in front of Graham's Style Store for Men. Parking locations were based on individual property owner requests. The sidewalk will be buff colored concrete, similar in color to that at City Hall. Score lines and inset gray paving blocks will match those on Third Street adjacent to the municipal parking lot.

Architectural Drawings of the new Main Street. Click Image to view a larger version.

Decorative Lighting and Cafe Tables	Street Gateways	Bicycle Racks	Planters

The sidewalk will be approximately 11-feet wide on each side of the street. Where we are not including parking, red colored and stamped concrete will extend from the sidewalk to the street. This is where tables, benches, trash/ash receptacles, planters and trees will be located. The planters will have a limestone base and cast stone sides. The tree grates will be similar to those used on Fifth Street alongside the new Cigna Building. The benches will be the same as those in Cable Car Square. The tables, chairs and trash/ash receptacles will be from the same product line as the benches. The light poles will be the same as those in Cable Car Square, in front of the Dubuque Museum of Art, around Behr Funeral Home and on Eighth Street. These are the same fixtures that are soon to be installed at the Cooper Wagon Works Building (Bricktown.)

The comparison between the existing amenities and those being installed is as follows:

The Town Clock is going to remain in its current location and traffic will proceed passed it to the east and west. The steps are being rebuilt and once the project is complete, a removable stage will allow all of the usual festivals like Dubuque...And All That Jazz and DubuqueFest to return to the plaza. At each intersection, pillars will be installed to allow banners to be extended across the street, blocking it to traffic for such events. The appearance of these structures will be repeated at the four corners of the base of the Town Clock.

That is the long and the short of it. We hope that this answers many of your questions but realize it cannot answer them all. If you have additional questions or need clarification on anything you read here, please contact the Project Architect for Durrant, Chris Wand, at chris@dubuque365.com. He will respond to your question and then post your question and his response to the FAQ section of this page. Please check this section prior to asking your question to see if it has already been asked and answered. We are confident that this project will meet or exceed your expectations. We firmly believe the entire community will be pleasantly surprised by the result and take pride in this section of our downtown. Thank you for your interest in our community.