Market Street sidewalk work nears completion
This was the view down Market Street from Cullom Street on Monday morning, with the new sidewalks stretching the length of the street all the way to Main. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
“Most of the sidewalks are in, but some electrical work remains to be done, along with digging out planters and putting in irrigation,” said Katherine Birkbeck, executive director of Historic Downtown Clinton.
“We’re getting about 200 trees and plants to go in the planters, and for the trees, we’re having to dig down 30 inches,” she said. “These will be big, mature shade trees.”
She said the next focus will be on pouring concrete to pave the currently gravel alleyway between Burrville and Healthy Visions, which will be called Pearl Alley.
That walkway will serve as an entrance to Market Street from the Commerce Street parking lot, Birkbeck said.
“That has been gravel for a long time,” she said, adding that the downtown clock “will be in that alley.”
Repaving of Market Street “will be much later after lamp posts and other elements are completed,” Birkbeck said, “probably starting in mid-May.”
All of the sidewalks will be ready for the spring Clinch River Antique Festival coming May 1-2, and even though Market Street won’t yet be paved, it will have street vendors on it for the festival, she said.
Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said Monday that pouring of the alleyway should begin Wednesday (April 1).
“The sidewalks definitely will be done by the festival,” he said. “I doubt all the light posts will be up by then.
“The Market Street project is about 80-82% complete, so it’s getting there,” he said. “The trees will be pretty good size – they won’t be saplings. Planting will be done after the concrete work is done.”
Meanwhile, Main Street will continue to be shut down to traffic approximately one block at a time “through the first of June,” Houck said.
Workers are installing about 35 sewer lines – called laterals – from businesses along the street to the new main sewer line in the middle of the street.
“They have to cut through layers of asphalt and concrete,” he said. “It’s very time-consuming. It takes about two to three weeks per block.”
Downtown merchants continue to remain optimistic about their businesses and the future as work gets closer to completion on the major upgrades to Market Street, which has been closed to traffic for extensive reconstruction since last March.
“There will be new asphalt laid on Broad, Main, Market, Commerce and Cullom streets,” Houck said earlier. “We also hope to put new asphalt on the public parking lot on Commerce Street. It’s been 40-plus years since new asphalt was laid there.
“There’s just a lot of small stuff that’s got to be done,” he said. “As for broadband (Wi-Fi) for downtown, the conduit is already in for it.”
When that’s installed and up and running, there will be free Wi-Fi available all over the downtown business district, according to plans.
Even with the design changes to the street and sidewalks, Houck said there will still be on-street parking available on Market Street, and that some on-street parking also is being added to Cullom Street.
As for the downtown parking meters, “We’re still undecided,” he said.
The construction is part of a $9.9 million project that began in February 2025, and was expected to last for about 17 months, in the historic area of downtown Clinton. It includes new water and sewer lines, along with sidewalks. and landscaping.
