The 500 block of Main Street in Little Rock will close during daylight hours for a month-long period beginning today.
Starting at 7 a.m. today, Main Street between Capitol Avenue and Sixth Street will be closed to vehicle traffic daily through 4:30 p.m. The road will reopen at night.
Pedestrian and bicycle traffic will be allowed even as the street is closed to vehicular traffic.
The day closures, expected to last about four weeks, are to allow for a safe working environment for construction crews that are continuing work on a water filtration project.
The project started in the 100 block of the roadway in March. Various methods of treating water runoff are being installed along the street. It’s a $1.6 million project, mostly funded by a $900,000 Environmental Protection Agency grant. The development will provide a sustainable water treatment strategy that avoids flooding and provides water supply to the plants in the area, according to the city.
Some of the travel lanes and sidewalks will be replaced with porous pavement. In other areas, rain gardens will be installed.
A number of trees along Main Street have been removed as part of the project. Mayor Mark Stodola has said they will be replaced with trees and other vegetation more fit for the area.
The 500 block of Main Street will eventually feature more than 1,300 plants including 26 trees, according to the city’s communications and marketing manager, Luis Gonzalez.
“The City of Little Rock will start landscaping in this block when the street reopens and expects to plant all new vegetation by next spring,” Gonzalez said.