New streetlights being installed in downtown Streator

Let there be light. Streetlights.

Streator’s downtown streetscaping project is nearing completion as period streetlights were being installed Tuesday on the north side of the 500 and 400 blocks of East Main Street.

Installation of street lights along the north side of Main Street to the Vermilion River should be complete by the end of the week, said City Engineer Jeremy Palm said, after which installation will move to the street’s south side.

The black period street lights are one of the final touches on a beautification effort stimulated by a $487,960 grant from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement program.

Work began this spring on brick bump outs, new crosswalks and the placement of coal planters on Main Street from the Vermilion River to Wasson Street.

The stamped and colored concrete crosswalks were completed with bricks that pay homage to the city’s history in the brick industry. Cobalt-blue ceramic and glass bricks created by Gavin Finefield of Finefield Pottery were installed every 8 feet in the brick ribbon. They are intended to give the downtown streetscaping project a signature characteristic, matching the colors of the cullet pile at Owens-Illinois glass factory.

The beautification also features embedded brick crosswalks, hanging planters, wayfinding signs and the addition of benches and garbage cans, among other features.

Palm said the brick ribbon will be cleaned and a sand grout will be added between the spaces that were left in the brick.

He expects the entire streetscaping project to be completed by October.