One block down, five to go.
After the near completion of renovations to the 100 block of State Street, the State Street Design Project proposed the preliminary plans for the renovations to the 200 block Wednesday night.
According to officials from the design committee, renovations to the 200 block of State Street should be a simple extension of the 100 block.
\I'm very anxious for Phase II,"" said Robert Gibbons, a former member of the oversight committee. ""If the work on Phase II goes as well as on Phase I, everything should be fine.""
Apart from some final details, work on the 100 block was completed on schedule this summer with little interference to local businesses and pedestrian flow, Gibbons said.
There was a marked difference between [projects on] State Street and Johnson Street,"" said Ted Crabb, the chair of the oversight committee. ""The contractors working on State Street kept the businesses open and provided open access for pedestrians. Also, there were weekly meetings to discuss any problems that arose [during construction].""
Plans presented by the design committee for Phase II share many similarities to the work done on Phase I. Beginning sometime next summer, construction teams will remodel the 200 block of State Street from the ground up. After replacing ancient water mains, workers will put in new gutters, curbs and pavement. Finally, the sidewalks will be remodeled with new benches and bus stops.
The 200 block will also be host to ""philosopher's stones."" According to Jill Sebastian, the lead artist on the State Street project, the philosopher's stones will be cylindrical granite blocks of varying height that will rest under a canopy of trees called the ""philosopher's grove."" Each stone in the philosopher's grove will be inscribed with various poetry and quotations and will symbolize the diversity evident on State Street.
""These stones were meant to give us a template for other voices,"" Sebastian said. ""These stones will encourage people to sit and watch. The best thing about State Street is the people on it.""
Officials at the meeting said Phase II of the reconstruction should be one of the easiest to accomplish, giving contractors plenty of time to prepare for Phase III.
Regardless, everyone at the meeting was happy with the progress already made and the future improvements to be done.
""This is the most important street in the state of Wisconsin,"" Sebastian said. ""We want to burn the images of this street into a person's memory.""
