Dixon wraps up $5.65M riverfront redevelopment project

DIXON – With the installation of emergency poles, the city is wrapping up construction of the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program multi-use path that runs west along the Rock River.

The ITEP multi-use path, the third phase of Dixon’s riverfront development master plan, was funded through three ITEP grant awards that totaled $5.65 million. The city broke ground on the project in April 2023, adding 1.6 miles of new multi-use pathways that run west of Heritage Crossing. The emergency poles were wired and installed earlier this week.

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The City of Dixon had emergency poles installed earlier this week along the newly paved Transportation Enhancement Program multiuse path that runs west along the river with a ramp to the viaducts running to Seventh Street. (Payton Felix)

“We don’t usually have them, but we thought that it would be good to have them up there. It’s an elevated path, and it’s a secluded area because of the trees. If somebody was having a health emergency, it gives first responders a point to work from,” Matt Heckman, assistant city manager, said in an interview with Shaw Local.

By the end of June, the poles will be complete with a video screen and a key pad with an activate button. Pushing the activate button will call first responders. It also will begin recording a video that will be sent along with the caller’s location to first responders, Heckman said.

Pavement was laid along the path last week.

Work also has included cleanup at the former Dixon Iron and Metal Co. site. Later this summer, the city will complete the demolition of old and unused buildings and other environmental work “in and around the DIMCO site.” The rest of the cleanup is expected to be completed by summer 2025, Heckman said.

This will mark the completion of phase three of the City Council’s riverfront development master plan that began in 1998 with the formation of the Dixon Riverfront Commission. The plan includes four projects: the construction of Heritage Crossing, completed in 2009; the installation of a multi-use path that extends east along River Road from Galena Avenue to Route 2, also completed in 2009; the ITEP multi-use path, to be completed this summer; and Project Rock.

[ A new look: Dixon riverfront redevelopment enters final phase ]

Throughout the next 12 to 24 months, there’s going to be a lot of activity, Heckman said.

That’s because construction of the fourth phase, Project Rock, is expected to begin next spring. The project will extend the ITEP path with a pedestrian bridge across the Rock River using the old Illinois Central Railroad piers, add 2.8 miles of multi-use path, add new sidewalks and crossings, and resurface Page Drive, which is maintained by the Dixon Park District.

In November 2021, federal officials announced that Project Rock is being funded by a $12 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program. The project is set to go out for bid this fall, Heckman said.