Downtown projects a big boost for city

After nearly a decade of planning and several rounds of seeking bids, it appears that Vandalia's downtown enhancement project is finally going to be launched this spring.

A bid opening last Friday produced a contractor whose price tag for the project is within 10 percent of the engineer's estimates. And that contractor has been involved in a similar – though much larger – enhancement project in downtown Belleville. It sounds like a good fit.

This project, combined with a bid for an infrastructure improvement project in the downtown area that was accepted by the Vandalia City Council on Jan. 5, paves the way for significant improvements to be made in the downtown area in 2009.

It's exciting to see the long-awaited projects nearly ready to get off the ground. The improvements they will bring will be of great benefit to our community.

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