Downtown work moving ahead nearing complete

April 8, 2026 by G. Chambers Williams III

Work continues this week on the concrete paving of Pearl Alley in downtown Clinton, a convenient walkway between the Commerce Street parking lot and the businesses on Market Street.

Additionally, Main Street remains closed to traffic from Broad to Kincaid streets as workers continue laying lateral sewer lines from Main Street buildings to the new main sewer line running down the middle of the street.

Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said last week that the Market Street project “is about 80 to 82% complete, so it’s getting there. The trees will be pretty good size – they won’t be saplings. Planting will be done after the concrete work is done.”

Pearl Alley paving began early last week, and was about two-thirds finished by Monday, with the last part to be completed the section on the south end, connecting to the sidewalk on Commerce Street.

Meanwhile, pouring of concrete for the new sidewalks on Market Street is nearly finished, but the planters and a few other elements remain to be completed, including irrigation, installation of light posts, and planting of trees and shrubs.

“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,” Katherine Birkbeck, executive director of Historic Downtown Clinton, said last week.

She said the focus now is on paving the previously graveled alleyway between Burrville and Healthy Visions, which will serve as a main entrance to Market Street from the Commerce Street parking lot.

“That has been gravel for a long time,” she said, adding that the downtown clock “will be in that alley.”

The last big piece of work on the Market Street upgrades will be the repaving of the street itself, will be after the lampposts are completed, Birkbeck said, “probably starting in mid-May.”

All of the sidewalks will be ready for the spring Clinch River Antique Festival May 1-2, and even though Market Street won’t yet be paved, street vendors will be using it during the festival, she said.

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 from businesses along the street to the new sewer line.

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.

“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.

All of the work 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 the new sidewalks and landscaping.