$5.5M rebuild of Charles Street in Rockford includes ‘much safer’ new multiuse path

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Work to rebuild a more than half-mile stretch of Charles Street complete with a new multiuse path is set to begin this fall.

City Council members on Monday awarded a $5.53 million contract to Williams Charles Construction to handle overhauling the road. The work consists of removing and replacing 3,500 feet of roadway from 28th Street to Parkside Drive. There will also be a multiuse path on the south side of the road, new sidewalks on the north side, a new storm sewer, upgraded traffic signals and sanitary sewer improvements.

The stretch of sidewalk is a commonly traveled path for students at East High School, but it has needed repairs for years, said David Saleh, who has lived along Charles Street near Woodland Avenue for more than 20 years.

“I’ve seen a lot of people trip on that sidewalk, kids going to school,” Saleh said. “That sidewalk is very, very bad. … That sidewalk along Charles Street is the worst sidewalk I’ve ever seen.”

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Saleh said Charles Street has long needed complete reconstruction.

The work, which is funded by the city’s 1% infrastructure sales tax, is part of a $248 million capital plan that is the largest such five-year plan in city history.

“I think it will make a big difference,” said Robb Sinks, who has run Kegel’s Bicycle Store, 2605 Charles St., just west of the construction zone for about 25 years “We see a lot of people walking and riding up and down Charles, especially with the kids from school now walking a little bit more. I think it will be a much safer, much more reliable way to get east to west on this side of town.”

He hopes the city will continue to extend the multiuse path down Charles.

“I’d love to see it come through here and continue on to their Keith Creek plan that they’ve got in the works,” Sinks said.

Construction work will begin this fall and is estimated to be complete by mid-October 2023.

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.